My Love Is Eternal
by Jordancatgirl7
Summary: The sequel to my fic, The One I Love. Zuko has become insane and rather likes it better than his reality. In real life, Katara is dead, in his mind, she's simply waiting for him and will continue to do so unless he can get to her. DEAD FIC IS DEAD!
1. My Life Without You

Authore's Note: Welcome to my sequel of The One I Love (TOIL) which I've finally decided to call My Love Is Eternal. This fic will mostly be based on Zuko and his children but that doesn't mean that the other charaters won't be in the chapters a lot, it just means that they aren't the main focus of the story. Though we will venture a bit into a few of their backgrounds dictated by me, Mai will make an appearence, Zhao will return, a total of four characters will die in this fic, (at least, mentioned, big-ish characters) and there will be plenty of Zutara despite the lack of Katara. If you haven't read The One I Love but you wish to read this fic, or if you have read it but kind of forget what's happened, then please pm me and I'll be more than happy to send you an abridged version.

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My Love Is Eternal

Chapter 1

**My Life Without You**

It's been ten long years since _that day_. That day changed everything and everyone, even if it was a change for the better in some cases or a change so small it was unnoticeable except for at a specific moment. But it especially changed him and that was as clear as the bright blue sky.

"My Lord, would you care to go outside today?" The light caressed against his skin and he cringed as he opened his eyes. They call him Lord but he is no longer treated like one. He's a prisoner. He was once a Lord, was once loved, and was once happy. But he's a prisoner now, kept locked up by people he once trusted and thought of as his friends and loving family. Not anymore; he knows better now, knows that he lost all of that when he lost _her_.

"No, let me sleep some more." His raspy voice was barely heard nowadays but whenever Jee did hear it, he never could miss the pain and rage that lay behind it. It never failed to send shivers down his spine.

"As you wish, my Lord," Jee bowed even though Zuko had his back to him. He closed the thick metal door as he went. Zuko listened for the click of the lock and the footsteps as Jee traveled the three rooms down to his uncle's room. He didn't doubt that Jee would tell his uncle about his desire to stay inside and his uncle would once again come to stir him up just enough so he'd leave his room peacefully.

Zuko rolled on his back and blinked up at the black canopy above him. He rarely did manage to sleep but when he slept he would always have the most wonderful dreams that he wished he would never wake from. In his dreams, _she_ always came back to him and brought him peace and joy.

He still thinks of _her_—thoughts of _her_ keep the little sanity that he has left—but the thoughts aren't enough. He misses_ her_ with all his soul. Though, he's not sure if his soul really has much value left to it. But what good is a soul anyways when he is denied of his soul's and heart's desire?

Everyday is spent in the lonely room he has been forced to call home. When he is allowed outside, it is usually for a quick stroll through the gardens with his uncle while a dozen guards keep close watch on him. He doesn't know why the guards stayed with him; he's no longer the Lord, despite what they may call him, he knows that the Fire Nation is in a war with itself with different groups trying to gain power. But perhaps the guards hope that he gets better—they keep calling him sick—and will join the fight to become triumphant over the groups and once again claim his rightful place as ruler of the Fire Nation. He won't; how can one heal from a broken heart by himself?

Still, for being a prisoner, he is treated well enough. He always gets a weekly visit from _her_ brother, if the guards and his uncle think he is well enough for it. Not to mention three meals fit for a Lord every day. Granted he only eats enough to stay alive, barely enough really.

His cell is more like a well furnished room. He has a big, comfortable bed with black sheets. An attached bathroom with a shower and bathtub which his uncle isn't worried about him having because he knew that Zuko was never someone to take his own life, no matter how miserable he got, or else the boy would have done it a long time ago.

A cozy, cushioned chair by the small window that even if he did break it hasn't help him escape because he wasn't even able to fit his leg out of it. Not to mention, he's kept on the fourth story of his replacement home—he refuses to call the place his actual home because home is where the heart is and his heart is not in this place.

His life isn't as bad as it once was—back when he was on a tiny ship chasing a wild dream—but it's also not as good as it one was—holding someone in his arms while he whispered sweet nothings and received sweeter nothings right back. He missed _her_ so much it hurt whenever he spoke or heard her name.

"Zuko," He blinked and noticed that his uncle was standing in the doorway. He must have fallen half asleep; darn his uncle for waking him up. "Jee tells me that you don't wish to go out today. Why wouldn't you want to go outside on such a nice day like this?" Iroh asked as he pointed out the tiny window.

"Alright, Uncle, let's go for a walk." Sighing as he forced himself to sit up, Zuko threw his legs over the side of the bed. His bare chest was met with the cooler temperature of the room—a pity that blanket warmth could never stay with someone—and his baggy black pants fell down to his ankles, allowing more of the cold air to brush up his legs and chill his spine. He never used to be so compliant with his uncle but he realized that the man was getting older and his age was starting to affect his body. Iroh's spirit, however, was as bright as it had ever been.

"Wonderful idea, Zuko, I'll have Jee escort you down and get a head start myself while you grab a shirt." Iroh beamed as he left the room, leaving Jee and two other guards waiting for Zuko.

As he opened his closet's oak draws and pulled on a shirt, Zuko absentmindedly noted that his uncle no longer addressed him with the title 'Lord' and he wondered if it was because his uncle knew he no longer was the man that once wore that title proudly. He brushed back his hair—it had gotten far too long for his liking around his scalp and he really needed a haircut—and pulled the lengthen locks into his famous ponytail.

He nodded to Jee to motion that he was ready to start heading down to the gardens and the man nodded back as he signaled his men to start the daily routine of allowing Zuko out of his room. He stepped out of the room and in-between the two guards so that one could walk in front of him and the other behind him as Jee walked at his side and always attempted some sort of awkward small talk that normally started with--

"How did you sleep last night, Lord Zuko?" Jee asked in his typical manner; a small smile as he tilted his head and faked an intrigued look. Zuko wouldn't change his morning's routine by answering anything different then he normally did.

"I dreamt of _her_ again once I finally managed to fall asleep." Zuko stuffed his hands into his pockets as he fell into step with Jee.

"Hm," the older man hummed. "Was it a good dream or was it the bad one?"

"It was a good one." Zuko replied honestly as he started to recall it. "_She_ was waiting for me by the pond and had a huge smile on _her_ face when _she_ saw me. We embraced and I picked_ her_ up by_ her _hips and swung_ her_ around until I didn't hear anything but _her_ laughter." A smile formed on his face.

"That's wonderful, my Lord, two good dreams in a row." Jee couldn't help but smile when he saw Zuko's own smile. The boy—Jee couldn't think of him as a man since he had not really lived the past ten years of his life—was rarely happy but when he was then it always turned out to be a good day.

"Yeah, I think it might be a sign." Zuko thought aloud as he glanced out one of the opened windows.

"A sign, my Lord; what do you think it means?" Jee asked as he studied Zuko's face. The smile was growing wider and Zuko actually showed some of his pearly white teeth that were rarer to see than the smile.

"I think it means that _she_ is stilling waiting for me back at the palace." Zuko's smile turned into a smirk and before Jee had time to even open his mouth, Zuko had acted.

Jee fell on his back as Zuko swept his legs out from under him and threw two fireballs at the guards. Knocking all of his guards away from him, he gave himself plenty of room to jump out the opened window and dart across the replacement palace's grounds.

His feet echoed against the hard ground as he pumped his arms faster than they had gone in quite some time. He knew he didn't have much time before the other guards showed up and he was never able to stop them. But he felt lucky today. That dream had meant that he would be reunited with _her_; he knew it.

"Zuko, stop, Zuko!" He ignored his uncle's cries and continued to run, knowing that his uncle would never be able to catch up with him. In fact, he was pretty sure that he was going to make it to the woods this time; the guards were never able to run too quickly with all the bulky armor they wore.

Once in the woods, he would be able to evade the guards even easier as he would use the trees and overgrown bushes to hide and swerve through the winding paths that many travelers have gotten lost on to keep his track hard to follow. He was only a few feet away from the beginning trees; he was going to make it! From the woods, he would return to the palace and to _her_.

"Not so fast!" He blinked out of his thoughts just fast enough to roll out of the way of the large rock shooting out of the ground. Brushing himself off, Zuko growled and stared at the Earthbender rotating a few pebbles above her hand. "You're being a very bad boy today, aren't you? Just think of all the trouble you would have caused your dear uncle if I hadn't decided to come check up on him at this perfect moment."

Toph, the Earthbending master, had become close friends with Zuko's uncle over the years though Zuko never took too kindly to the blind girl. Namely, due to incidents like this. "I'm not going without a fight." He challenged as he slid into a defensive position.

"You never do." Toph grinned as she brushed a lose strand of her long hair behind her ears. She had long gotten rid of her bangs and no longer found the need to hide her unseeing eyes since her talents were known world wide. "Too bad for you, Zuko, I didn't come alone today."

"Hey, Zuko, it's been a while." The Avatar, still wearing his ridiculously bright orange outfit, fell from the sky with his staff in hand. His smile wasn't as friendly as it once was but he had grown and over the last ten years, his innocence had been put through too much for him to still be able to give the same open-hearted smile.

Zuko couldn't stand the Avatar, he never could. The boy was always to blame on so many hardships of his life; how could he possibly like someone like that? Charging full speed toward the couple, Zuko released all the pent up energy that he hadn't released during his escape attempt a week ago. One fire blast after another, each with its own pain filled, desperate scream, were easily blocked by Aang's Airbending and a few stray rocks from Toph until Zuko was a mere foot away from them.

Aang spun around with his staff and sent Zuko flying into Toph's first jutting rock. He slumped against the rock and fell to the ground as his guards finally caught up with him and helped him up. They didn't release their holds on his elbows or shoulders even after he was standing.

"Why must you always stop me, Avatar?" Zuko seethed through his clenched teeth. "What harm can I do?"

"A lot, actually." Toph folded her toned arms over her developed chest.

"I will keep my promise, I will go back to _her_ one day whether you want me to see _her_ or not. We belong with each other!" Zuko screamed as the guards started to drag him back toward the palace.

Iroh sighed and shook his head as he watched his nephew being dragged away again. "Just another week, hm?" He forced a small smile on his worn face as he approached the couple. "So, what brings you two up to visit an old geyser like me? Not that I'm not thrilled to see you, especially with your timing being perfect. But you were just up here yesterday with the twins." Iroh glanced at one smiling face to the other and he narrowed his eyes. "What news are you two not telling me?"

"Well, Uncle Iroh, remember that little thing I've been discussing with you for a while now." Aang pointed to Toph and Iroh's smile widened.

"Young Avatar, you didn't." Iroh beamed as Toph held out her left hand and he noticed the all-too-familiar ring on her finger.

"He did and I agreed!" Toph grinned. "You can call me Mrs. Avatar!" Iroh clapped his hands together happily.

"Congratulations, you two. Though, if you don't mind me saying, it's about time you two did settle down. You are the last ones out of your group to finally match up." Iroh grinned and clapped Aang on the back with his callused hand. Aang grinned like an idiot and rubbed at his short brown hair.

"Yeah, well, Smellerbee and Long Shot got married right after Ty Lee and Sokka did so I didn't want it to seem like I was just following the group or anything like that." Aang shrugged his broad shoulders with a sloppy grin still on his face.

Toph rolled her blinded eyes. "Yeah, right; Twinkle Toes just didn't have enough guts to finally ask the question until last night." She elbowed Aang lightly in the side and he chuckled nervously.

Iroh chuckled as well. "You cannot blame the man, my dear; you are a determined, free spirited, beautiful young lady and any man can find that intimidating. Even the Avatar was a bit afraid to try and take you on."

"He should be use to going at things head first with me; he's been doing it for ten years practically." Toph pointed out as Aang's face began to flush.

"I just wasn't sure if I wanted to settle down yet or if you wanted to." Aang claimed in his defense. "Besides, you were the one who always commented that there wasn't any point in getting married with a family like ours."

"But I didn't mean that." Toph stamped her foot on the ground and the rock that had been jutting out from the ground suddenly turned into grounded pebbles. "You should have known that I was just--"

"Excuse me for interrupting your lovers' spat, but I really should go have a talk with Zuko about the little stunt he just pulled." Iroh spoke up. "But you two may continue your little chat at dinner tonight if you wish to do so." He suggested with a small smile.

"I think we'll be fine." Aang wrapped his hand around Toph's waist. "We will, of course, be discussing the wedding plans tonight. Oh and please tell Jee of the news as well." Aang beamed as Toph interlaced her hand with his own.

"I will do. Now get going you two, a newly pronounced couple shouldn't be wasting their time chatting it up with an old man that they already spent an entire day with. Especially not when you see said old man each night anyways." Iroh sarcastically scolded the two.

"What did I say about calling yourself old?" Toph growled and Iroh laughed as he started to walk back towards the palace.

"Forgive me, my dear, I must be forgetting myself." He grinned and waved as he walked backwards for a few steps to watch Aang blast off into the air with Toph in his arms.

"You'll get off easy for today, but only because I'm in such a good mood." Toph called down below her as she clung tightly to Aang. She knew she would never be use to flying, whether it was with her fiancé or on his magically bison.

Iroh made his way back into the palace and, after a while, came to his nephew's room. "Zuko," he knocked and opened the door before receiving a response. "Why do you feel the need to send me to an early grave by giving me a heart attack? Haven't I--"

"Not today, Uncle." Zuko turned his back to the man as he rolled onto his side on the bed. "Please, not today. I had really thought I would be able to see _her_ again today."

Sighing, Iroh stood in the doorway for another moment or two before he closed the door. He no longer bothered trying to tell his nephew that _she_ was dead. Zuko never believed him anyways.

He headed back to his room and he sat before his tea set. Removing his mask, he drank his tea with a tired frown on his face. Iroh wasn't sure how much longer he could take this heart wrenching life. If it wasn't for all of his lovely, extended family members meeting him for dinner each night, he knew he would have died long ago.

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"Would you just pass the damn salt already?" Smellerbee shouted for the third time as she pointed at the salt at the opposite end of the table. 

"What's the magic word, Smelly?" Toph asked with a grin as she picked up the salt and rocked it back and forth in her thumb and forefinger.

Smellerbee stood up and slammed her hands on the table as she tried to stretch her arms across the table to simply take the salt for herself. Aang, fortunately, intervened and snatched the salt from Toph's hand. "Ask nicely, Smellerbee."

"Aang, may I please have the salt?" She hissed through clenched teeth as she held her hand out.

"Of course." Aang beamed and placed the salt in her palm. She quickly sat back down and poured the salt on her chicken. Long Shot, sitting next to her, shook his head.

"Shut up, Long Shot, I do not use_ that_ much salt." She stressed as she continued to shake salt onto her meal. He rolled his eyes and continued to eat his own meal, casting a few glances at the piling salt on her chicken.

"If you keep eating like that then you're going to have high blood pressure." The Duke commented as he poked Smellerbee in the shoulder. Even though it had been ten years, he was still the smallest of the group.

"Leave her alone, Dr. Duke." Pipsqueak reached across the table for another slice of bread. He was still the largest of the group and no one minded since he was another gentle giant.

For the small town that they lived in, Sousen, The Duke had become the local doctor and gained plenty of respect despite the odd fact that he never seemed to have grown. Pipsqueak had become Sousen's local man for hire. Any manual labor that needed to be taken cared of, he was quickly contacted and he usually finished the job within the next two hours.

"He's right, you know." Sokka spoke up with his mouth full. Ty Lee sat next to him and raised her eyebrow as she pointed at his own plate. "Don't even start on my diet again. You know how I am with my food." Sokka stabbed his chicken with his fork and started to shove more into his mouth even though he had yet to swallow what he had in his mouth.

"I'll talk to you later then." Ty Lee signed with a smile. Over the years, she had learned sign language and so had the rest of the group, except for Toph.

"Kimiko, would you mind pouring me some more tea?" Iroh asked his granddaughter as he held out his empty cup.

"Sure, Granddad," Kimiko smiled as she brushed back a few loose strands of her long, brown hair. She had grown up looking like the split image of her resting mother. Her eyes were as bright blue as the water she loved to play with, her hair just as long and manageable, and her spirit shined in her smile. She even wore the necklace that had been given to her mother as an engagement sign from her father which she had never met.

"I've got it, Granddad." Kazuki spoke up as he stared at the tea pot in his twin's hands and concentrated. He took a deep breath and a stream of tea started out of the pot and filled Iroh's cup. He flashed his arrogant little smirk that had become so natural for him. His short brown hair was shaggy on the top of his head and shaved on the back, but he didn't have a ponytail like his uncle Sokka did. His eyes were a dull mix of blue and gold that made him appear to have ugly green eyes except when looked upon in the bright sunlight.

"Zuki," Kimiko placed the tea pot back down on the table. "What did Uncle Sokka tell you about using your powers at the dinner table?"

"Oh come now, Kimie," He rolled his eyes. "Uncle Aang says I'm allowed to practice whenever I want to. Right, Uncle Aang?"

"Don't drag me into this." Aang pleaded as he continued to eat his meal and look away from the two young stares.

"Speaking of practicing, how have your skills come along since I last trained with you, Kim?" The normally quiet Jee spoke up and asked the little girl who had become a niece or granddaughter to everyone at the table.

"Would you like to see me perform Granddad's move?" She asked eagerly as she picked up a cup of tea. A few glances were cast along the table.

"Kim," Sokka started to interject. "I don't think you should try anything indoors. Remember the last time you tried to do something--"

"That was a year ago, Uncle Sokka. I'm so much better now and besides, Granddad has been showing me his signature move for months. Please, just let me try once." She pleaded as she folded her hands together and batted her long eyelashes. Sokka sighed and waved his hand to signify that she could go ahead and try. "Thank you, Uncle Sokka; trust me you won't be disappointed!"

She jumped up from the table with her cup of tea in hand and tilted her head back as she extracted the liquid into her mouth. She made a circle with her hand and held it in front of her mouth as she focused her energy to her hand. Spitting the tea out, her eyes lit up as the tea contacted with her Firebending skills and turned into a powerful blast of fire. She bent back and shot the flames higher into the sky, appearing to be a fire breather just like a dragon which the move was named for.

When the tea ran out, she settled her hand back at her side and smiled as the table started to clap. She bowed and then sat back down. "Wonderful, Kimiko, darling; you've really been practicing hard. I'm proud to pass that move down to you." Iroh smiled happily as he patted his granddaughter's shoulder gently with pride.

"Well, I did have a great teacher." She grinned and to her left, Aang's heart twitched in his chest. She really was starting to look just like her mother, Katara.

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A. N. (again): I'll update twice a month, I'm not sure when exactly, and I'll try to make the chapters around 4,000 words at the least. I hope to make this story about 25 chapters. Also, for those of you that feel like looking back at my early chapters of TOIL, you might have noticed that I've gotten much better at writing which just proves if you practice something, you do get better! 


	2. My Tears Unshed

Authore's Note: Alright, this is so overdue I can't even find words to describe how sorry I am. To try and make it up to my readers, I will attempt to post two more chapters while I'm off school for Holiday break. For those who will continue to read my story, despite how I broke my promise about updating, I would like to thank you for giving me this chance to make it up to you.

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My Love Is Eternal 

Chapter 2

**My Tears Unshed**

Aang stood below the hand crafted altar that he had carved from the earth and added different affects to the rock built gazebo from uses of the other elements. Sokka was smiling behind him, carefully holding onto the ring that would be placed on Toph's callused hand in a few minutes and then stay there forever. Beside him was Long Shot watching over Kazuki to make sure he didn't loose the ring he was holding that Toph would give to Aang and he would treasure. Kimiko was throwing the flower petals a few steps before the blushing bride as she and Iroh walked down the isle, whispering encouragement of the future between them.

Ty Lee and Smellerbee stood by each other, holding matching and smaller bouquets of green and yellow flowers; their grins identical. The only difference was their sizes. Smellerbee was still shorter than Ty Lee and now that she was six months into her pregnancy, her stomach was the size of a watermelon. The Duke, Pipsqueak, and Jee, the only bachelors left of the group, were all standing by each other, trying to look manly and not cry.

A lot of citizens from all over the world were also there to celebrate, this was the Avatar's wedding after all, but Aang had insisted on a small ceremony with only their closest friends. Toph had agreed.

As Toph finally stood beside him, Aang lifted her veil to stare into her shining blind eyes. He gripped her hand and turned to the minister that had begun to chant his memorized vows.

Aang took one last look around the group of his friends and the people he considered his family. He took a long look at his bride and he turned to the minister as he squeezed Toph's hand. _I wish Katara was here._ He wiped a single tear from his eye, not knowing whether it was from sadness of happiness. "I do," he stated firmly and then bent down to kiss his new wife.

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Tears streamed down Smellerbee's face as she gripped onto Long Shot's arm and sobbed into his shoulder. His hat was tipped down, covering his face, but that didn't stop his shoulders from shaking with his own sobs as the couple watched their only child lowered into the grave. 

"Why?" Smellerbee screamed into his shoulder between her sobs. "We did everything Duke said." She complained as she lifted her face and glanced at the small grave that had been specially made by the forest. "Why her? She was going to be our special little girl. Our little baby," Smellerbee buried her face against Long Shot again and he wrapped his arms around her. "Why our little baby?"

Aang's hands shook as he carved into the headstone. His eyes were blurring with tears and he couldn't stop the shaking from spreading from his hands to his entire body. Toph took the stone from him and finished the carving.

Elisa came into the world on a beautiful morning at the beginning of autumn. Stillborn.

"Why?" Smellerbee's voice went hoarse as she watched the tiny casket get covered up by the freshly dug earth. Long Shot hollowly at the sight and then lowered his head to hide behind his hat again.

They would never again go through the pain that pregnancy had brought them.

* * *

"Why did you hit him, Zuki?" Ty Lee signed as she frowned. Kazuki sniffled and rubbed the dark bruise on his cheek. Kimiko sighed and shook her head. 

"He deserved it," She spoke up for her brother. "Tak called us freaks because we don't have parents and Kazuki insisted that they had to fight because he had to defend our honor." Sokka and Iroh passed secret grins to each other and only held back their laughter when Ty Lee glared up at them.

"That doesn't give you any right to hit another kid, Zuki." Ty Lee's hands flew into motion as she started to sign on about using words and not fists and a bunch of other things that Kazuki interpreted as a bunch of 'piece loving circus people mumbo.'

When she was finished and placed her hands on her hips, looking sternly down at the boy, Sokka cleared his throat. "Well, Kazuki, you didn't use your bending did you?" Kazuki shook his head. "Alright, so it was a fair fight. Did you at least win?"

"Of course I did. And when Tak's friends jumped in, Kimie added in and together we beat their butts until they started crying for their mommies." He grinned.

"You weren't supposed to tell that part." Kimiko slapped her brother on the back of the head.

"Ow," he mumbled as he rubbed his sore head and shot a glare at his sister.

"Well, as long as you won, that's all that really matters." Sokka grinned. Ty Lee slapped her husband on the back of the head. "Ow," Sokka mumbled as he rubbed his head.

Iroh laughed and wiped a tear from his eye. "I don't care what that Tak boy has to say, you are all related and that is all that matters." He grinned and nobody slapped him due to the fact that his words were insightful and he was the Dragon of the West; no one wanted to start a fight with him.

* * *

"You're trying to replace us." Kazuki insisted as he wiped at his eyes. He was fourteen. _Fourteen year old boys do not cry,_ he told himself angrily and continued to wipe at his eyes. 

"We're not trying to replace you guys. We love you both very much and there will always be a special place in our hearts solely for you two." Sokka sat down on the side of the bed and stroked Kazuki's back. Kimiko held out her hand and Ty Lee took it with a smile as she slowly and carefully sat down, one hand supporting the large belly that she had grown accustomed to.

"Besides, Zuki," Kimiko added to try and comfort her brother. "It's been proven that babies can learn sign language before learning how to speak. Think about how Auntie Lee can now talk to someone who can actually speak her language and not complain about it." She grinned and caught the faint smile on her brother's face.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kazuki turned the situation into a joke. "And besides, unless Auntie Lee has twins, she can't really replace both of us."

"I doubt we'll be that fortunate." Ty Lee signed and they all laughed.

* * *

"…Happy Birthday dear Kimiko and Kazuki, happy Birthday to you!" The group sang, off keyed, as the twins grinned at each other and then blew out their candles in one breath. The group clapped and cheered as they started to cut and serve the cake. 

"I still say that Auntie Lee has the best singing voice out of all of you." Kazuki joked as he grinned at his aunt. Ty Lee's shoulders shook as she mutedly laugh and the rest of the group laughed along with her.

"My, I can't believe you two are really sixteen." Iroh sat down at the end of the table and grabbed a fork as he took a slice of the cake. "I'm getting too old for all of this excitement and partying."

"Granddad, please, this isn't partying. This is the same thing we've been doing for the past sixteen years. Except we get cake instead of some dessert I can't pronounce." Kimiko stabbed her cake and sighed. "It's nothing special, really."

"Yeah, Tak said that when he turned sixteen his family went to the city to celebrate and he was able to pick out whatever he wanted from the market. He said there was so much stuff there that he had to walk the streets for over an hour before he figured out what he wanted." Kazuki explained excitedly as he chewed with his mouth full.

"Why couldn't we have done something like Tak did?" Kimiko asked as she pouted and looked from Sokka to Iroh.

"I've always said I never liked that Tak kid. Besides, he's full of it. His parents are just as boring as we are and they didn't take him anywhere. When you see him tomorrow you ask him what he did pick from the market and tell him to show it to you." Sokka pointed his fork at them challengingly. "I'll bet you that he doesn't have anything special to show you."

Kazuki and Kimiko sighed and passed a look between each other. "Besides," Smellerbee spoke up. "You guys got all of this junk." She pointed over her shoulder at the pile of presents sitting in the corner of the main room of Sokka and Ty Lee's home. "You really don't need anything else."

"Yeah, and it's not like there's anything special in the marketplace. You couldn't get Aang's gift anywhere else but from the Avatar's hands." Pipsqueak pointed out.

"That's not the point." Kimiko complained. "It's not the stuff that we wanted."

"We wanted to do something, see somewhere." Kazuki insisted. "You guys are always telling us about all the places you were able to visit and all the things you guys saw when you went traveling with Uncle Aang. You guys were our age and you got to see half of the world. We've never been out of this no-place town."

"You should be thankful that you have a place to call your own." The Duke placed his glass of milk on the table. "Half of us here were forced to travel the world, searching for some place we could call home. You guys are fortunate enough to have a loving home in a safe town."

"Right," Kazuki sighed. "I just wished we could have seen something that our mom or dad might have seen when they were still alive."

The room instantly went quite at the mention of Zuko and Katara. Kazuki and Kimiko knew that the topic of their parents was a sensitive subject and they didn't normally bring it up.

"Well, I have yet to give you two my gifts." Iroh stood up and walked around the table to his grandchildren. He pulled two boxes a long, skinny blue box out of his sleeve and presented it to Kimiko as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday, Kimie."

He motioned to Jee and the man handed him a large, red box. Iroh sat it down before Kazuki and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Happy Birthday, Zuki. You two can open them now."

Kazuki and Kimiko both spared a glance at each other and then grinned as they pulled the lids off of their boxed gifts. Their eyes widened in awe as they stared at their revealed presents. Kimiko pulled the satin blue necklace at and stared at the round blue stone in the middle of the fabric. "It's beautiful, Granddad." She quickly tied the necklace around her neck and touched the pendant.

"Wow, Granddad, this is awesome!" Kazuki pulled the blue, smiling mask out of the box and held it up to his face. "Where did you get these?"

"The necklace was your mother's and the mask was your father's." Iroh announced and watched as the twins touched their items with a fond gentleness. "Your mother received that necklace from her mother and her mother received it from hers. I knew that your mother would be honored for you to carry on the family tradition." Iroh smiled as Kimiko continued to trace the pendant.

"Your father wore that mask when he needed to take up the disguise of the Blue Spirit. With that mask on, he would take out his dual swords and use only the skills of the swords to help him do the right thing." Iroh glanced up at Aang and smiled. "With the mask on, he didn't have to do what he normally would have to do, but could simply do what he knew needed to be done."

"Wait, my dad wouldn't use his Firebending when he wore this mask?" Kazuki asked as he placed the mask carefully into the box again. Iroh bit his lip as a single tear slid down his eyes from the memories of his nephew in the days past. Aang caught the sight of Iroh's pain and cleared his throat to draw the attention to him.

"No, he would take up a new persona and be the silent savior, the Blue Spirit." Aang spoke up and all the eyes in the room turned to him. "Even though your dad, in the earlier years, sought to capture me, he once saved me from Zhao while he was wearing that mask. I didn't know it was him at first and I never told anyone that I had ever had a run in with the Blue Spirit, but he saved my life that night. In fact, if he hadn't rescued me that night, who knows what would have happened."

"Can you tell us the story, Uncle Aang?" Kimiko asked as she smiled and continued to trace the carved pattern of her pendant. Aang's heart clenched at the sight of Kimiko's smile and Katara's necklace. Now that Kimiko was sixteen, she was the splitting image of Katara. And the necklace only made that image stronger.

"Sure," Aang smiled as he wrapped an arm around Toph's waist. "It all started when Sokka got sick…"

* * *

"What do you want to name her?" Ty Lee signed as she looked into the cradle that held their treasured bundle of joy. The newborn kicked her little legs under the yellow blanket. Her bright blue eyes peeked from behind her eyelashes as she fussed and tossed her head from side to side. The soft patch of brown hair, already growing on her round head, accentuated her slightly dark skin. 

"I'm not sure," Sokka admitted as he looked down at his firstborn. The room smelt of honey from when the others had celebrated the birth and Kazuki had spilt the honey while he was adding it to his tea. "What names do you have in mind?"

"You name her, Sokka; I'll name the next one." Ty Lee grinned and Sokka couldn't help but smile as well. He continued to stare down at his little girl and a sad smile spread across his face.

"Katara would have loved to meet her niece." Sokka reached into the cradle and picked her up, cradling her gently as he rocked on his legs from side to side, calming her fusses.

"You can name her after Katara, if you want to." Ty Lee suggested. Sokka looked down at the little figure in his arms and shook his head.

"No," A small tear rolled down from the corner of his eye and he smiled as it splattered on her head. "Katara would want me to move on and would complain that there's too many 'K' names around here already." He pressed a kiss to her head and met his wife's shining eyes. "Welcome to the family, Pamela."

* * *

"Zuko," Katara's soft voice filled his ears and he opened his eyes to view the lovely woman looking down at him, a smile on her tan face. "Are you just going to lie here all day or are you going to get up and live the day?" She nudged at his bare side with her foot, kicking some sand onto his abs with the movement. 

"I'm coming, Katara." Zuko sat up slowly and looked around at his surroundings. The beach was currently in high tide and the waves were getting close to where they had set the umbrella up. The sun was bright and the sky was cloudless but there was a gentle breeze that helped to cool them down. "Alright, Katara, let's go."

"We can't go yet, Zuko, it's not your time." Katara's smile softened and her eyes saddened as she sat down beside her beloved. "We can't go, Zuko, but you can still live your days out happily. You just have to get up and live."

"Katara," Zuko frowned. "I don't understand what you're saying."

"You will, Zuko, you will soon enough." She frowned and he reached up to cup her face in his hand. "You just have to wake up, Zuko. Wake up--"

"Lord Zuko," Lee's voice invaded Zuko's dreams and his eyes jerked open. "Wake up, Lord Zuko, wake up."

"What?" Zuko snapped as he sat up and the sheets rolled off of his bare torso. "What is so important that you had to disturb me from my slumber? You know I only find joy in my dreams, Lee. Now what do you want?"

"I'm sorry, Lord Zuko, but it is you uncle. He wishes to speak to you now." Jee informed him as he fidgeted in the doorway.

"If he wants to talk to me so badly, then he should have come in here and woken me himself." Zuko growled as he laid back down and pulled the covers up to his shoulders.

"I'm afraid, my Lord, that your uncle is bedridden." Jee frowned.

"What?" Zuko snapped as he once again sat up in bed. He threw his feet over the side of the bed and quickly stood and headed to his wardrobe to pull his robe on. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier? What does he got? If it's a cold then he'll want some ginseng tea by his bedside and if it's a--"

"My Lord, it's nothing like that it's just…" Jee paused and took a deep breath before he met Zuko's eyes. "Your uncle is getting on in his years, my Lord. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but he's not as young as he use to be and your weekly escape plans put a lot of strain on him." Zuko's mouth closed and he tightened his robe around himself, suddenly feeling a chill. "He wishes for you to visit with him for a while. He fears…that he doesn't have much time left."

"What are you talking about, Jee? Uncle Iroh isn't…he's just sick. He might be a bit delusional too, but…he's just sick. You shouldn't take anything that he says seriously right now. I remember this one time," Zuko forced a smile to cross over his face. "When he accidentally thought this one plant was a rare white dragon bush and he brewed it in some water, thinking it would make some tea. It turned out that it was this poisonous plant. Uncle swelled up with these red rashes all over his face. Then he thought he found some berries that would cure it, or cause blindness. I wouldn't let him do anything else after that and got him into the nearest town to get some proper medicine." Zuko coerced a chuckle and fidgeted with the strings on his robe. "That was sometime right after my banishment and a part of me thought Uncle was doing it simply to cheer me up. I wouldn't really be surprised." He drifted off, lost in his memories and stared sadly at his bare feet.

Jee cleared his throat and Zuko looked up at him. "My Lord, why don't we go visit your uncle now and you can reminisce over the good times with him?" He suggested with a gentle smile. Zuko nodded and solemnly followed Jee out of his room and down the hallway, lined with a few guards like there always was right after one of Zuko's failed escapes, to Iroh's bedroom.

Zuko knocked on the door. "Uncle Iroh, it's me. Jee told me that you wanted to talk to me." He announced himself and waited quietly for a response.

"Come in, Zuko." Iroh's voice spilled through the heavy wooden door and Zuko smiled as he opened the door.

"Are you coming in as well, Jee?" Zuko asked as he turned to look at his second in command. Jee shook his head but offered a small smile.

"I talked with your uncle this morning. You two deserve to have your private moment as well." Jee hesitated for a moment, and then continued. "I'll wait right outside though and if, if you need me, just call, okay?" Zuko nodded and entered the room, closing the door behind him.

"Uncle," Zuko frowned as he looked around the poorly lit room. "Why do you have the candles so low?" Zuko raised his hand to focus his mind on the candles but Iroh's voice stopped him before he made the candles burn brighter.

"Zuko, I…I don't look so good right now and the candle light is starting to bother my eyes a bit. Just leave them as they are and come sit next to me, nephew. I wish to talk with you before I pass on." Iroh propped a pillow behind himself and slowly sat up. Zuko took a seat on the edge of the bed and took his uncle's hand in his own.

"What are you talking about, Uncle? You're not going anywhere. You're the Dragon of the West, a legend of the Fire Nation; nothing can defeat you, not even creatures sent from the Spirit World." Zuko smiled and squeezed his uncle's skilled hand.

"I wouldn't take on the Spirit World when it's come to take me away. My time is coming, Zuko, I'm too old to fight. Also, I'm ready to be reunited with my Lu Ten; it has been too long since we were separated." Iroh smiled. "But before I can be with my first born son, I have to make sure that my other son is taken cared of." Iroh squeezed Zuko's hand back.

"You know that I have always looked at you as my own, right?" Zuko nodded and subconsciously moved closer to his father figure. "Zuko, you have made me so proud over the years. You didn't allow your father to corrupt you, you stayed the same, sweet boy that your mother raised well and you followed your heart."

"Uncle," Zuko choked a sob down and looked at his last recognized family member. "You're just sick. If I was able to get Katara," he paused at saying her name allowed and then continued. "If Katara was here, she would be able to heal you and you'd be better. You wouldn't have to talk about this nonsense of passing on and entering the Spirit World. Just, you have to tell Jee to let me go find Katara. I'll find her--"

"Zuko, stop, she's dead. I can't keep telling you this forever. Katara died giving birth to your two lovely children. As soon as you can understand that, as soon as we know you're stable again, you can see your kids and you can treasure them like I treasure you." Iroh pleaded with Zuko. "Please, Zuko, just understand that Katara is gone. Understand that before I join her, please."

"I can find Katara, Uncle." Zuko ignored him and felt his body begin to shake. "Let me find Katara and she can heal you. Please, Uncle, let me find Katara. She'll make you feel better."

Iroh sighed and shook his head. "Oh, Zuko, I fear that I will have to join Katara in the Spirit World and continue to look over you before I can truly rest and be with my Lu Ten." He brought up his free hand and ran it over Zuko's head. Zuko had kept his ponytail over the years but his hair had started to grow back on the rest of his head. Iroh cupped Zuko's face and brought Zuko's face closer so he could press a kiss to his nephew's forehead.

"Just remember, Zuko, I'm proud of you. No matter what, despite everything that's happened, I'm proud of you." Iroh insisted as Zuko nodded his head.

"Thank you, Uncle," he paused. "For everything, for always believing in me even when I didn't believe in myself, thank you."

A knock on the door interrupted their quiet moment. "I'm sorry to intrude," Jee stuck his head in. "But your other visitors are here."

Iroh nodded and looked at Zuko one last time. "You've grown up into a wonderful man. Just remember your morals and never do something that you know would upset Katara." Iroh silently pleaded and Zuko nodded his head and stood.

"If you'd just let me go get her, she could--" Iroh shook his head no and Zuko stopped. He turned to face Jee and nodded his head once then headed back to his own room, but stopped to listen outside the door.

"Jee, like I told you this morning, please just watch over and encourage him." Iroh repeated and Jee nodded.

"Of course, Iroh, I would do so even if you haven't asked. Zuko is my friend and I really do think he can get better." Jee smiled sadly. "He was talking about you this morning and he actually sounded like the old Zuko again."

"I'm glad." Iroh smiled. "Send them all in now, please." Zuko took a deep breath and finally headed back to his room. He knew that his uncle had become close with the Avatar and his group of friends over the years, but he still couldn't forgive them for stopping him from getting to Katara all of those times.

He locked his door behind himself and sat on his unmade bed, burying his face in his pillow and not shedding a single tear. His uncle, his friends, his everything had died on the same day as Katara did. He had shed all of his tears back then and refused to shed anymore.

* * *

A. N.: I know you guys don't want to hear my excuses, but I participated in NANO this year which took up all my time during Novemeber and once I finished, I had a horrible writer's block. Still, that's not really an excuse so I will attempt to make it up to all of you with two more chapters during these next two weeks.

Just one thing; you really shouldn't hold my lack of updates against me. I have a life outside of typing fanfiction. I did NANO so I could prove that I could someday write my own story that I could maybe earn money off of. Not to mention the fact that I am a Junior in High School; this is my most important year of school and I really have to focus on my studying and my sport so I get into a good college. Also, life is unpredictable and a lot has happened to me consisting of unpleasent memories and I really don't need to be recieving messages threatening me to update. It's just not appreciated. I am really sorry for not holding my word about the updates but I needed to get my bareings under me again in real life.

Now that I'm stable, I feel like I can write once more and I will continue to update at a regular pace now, after these two rapid fire chapters are out. I'll set that pace later. For now, I just would like to apologize one last time and even if I don't get any more reviews, I will be writing this story simply because it is fun for me to do so. I can really relate to Zuko now since someone very dear to me has passed away.


	3. My Hand in Yours

My Love Is Eternal 

Chapter 3

**My Hand in Yours**

Kimiko placed the red and orange wildflowers that she had found on her granddad's grave and stepped back to stand by her brother. He offered his hand and she gripped it, giving her brother a reassuring squeeze as a few more tears crept down her cheeks. Even though he wasn't their real grandfather, he was still the last tie to their father that they knew of.

They had talked to their granddad for one last time and for his last words, he had asked them for forgiveness, confusing and upsetting them. No one had clarified for them why he was asking for forgiveness but they figured that it was because everyone else also felt guilty for the same thing that Iroh did. And that they were still doing whatever needed to be forgiven.

"We forgive you, Granddad; we could never be upset with you after everything you've done for us." Kazuki whispered as the ritual continued. Sokka and Jee were continuing their speeches about the wonderful life Iroh had lived and how he had brought so much joy into their lives with his presence. They were also trying to pass around Iroh's shared wisdom in the same way he did; long, confusing stories.

"That is why," Jee carried on as he finished another story with a moral no one actually understood completely. "I will spread the remaining half of his ashes that he had wished not be buried in this garden around Ba Sing Se like he had asked. I will travel to the Earth Kingdom and spread the ashes over the grave of his departed, beloved son, Lu Ten." Jee held the carefully painted red with black designs urn in his hands.

Sokka then took control of the ceremony and prolonged with his speech about Iroh and how he had helped them all throughout the years. Kimiko's attention drifted away as she looked around the garden that they were burying half of Iroh's ashes in. It was the same garden that she had been in countless amounts of times with her granddad. He had first her how to control her Firebending in this very garden. Iroh had always claimed that it was their garden; that it had been specially made for Iroh and that he was sharing it with her.

Even though Iroh was dead, Kimiko still felt his presence in the garden. She glanced over at the rock bench next to the koi pond and remembered how, in between their training breaks, they would sit there, with tea, of course, and Iroh would tell her stories about her father while he was training or struggling with something.

She had learned a lot about her father from Iroh just like she had learned a lot about her mother from Sokka. Though Iroh rarely spoke of her mother and Sokka never talked about her father except for a few cruel words. From what her granddad had told her, Sokka believed that her mother died due to her father's fault. She and Kazuki both knew that her mother had died while giving birth to them but no one had ever told them how their father had died.

Still, Kimiko felt a special bond between herself and both of her parents. She felt connected to her mother not only because she wore her necklace at all times, but because everyone told her that she was identical to her mother in looks and spirit. With her Firebending skills, she felt connected to her father and hoped that he would be proud of her skill. Even though she wasn't able to properly bend lightning that never made her frustrated since she knew her father had never gotten the hang of it either; it made her feel closer to him.

Kimiko continued to look around the garden, wiping her tears with her hand not holding her brothers, as she tried to sense where her granddad's spirit felt the strongest. She had gotten interested in the spirit world due to Iroh's influences and believed that he was watching over all of them for some unknown reason.

They once had had a huge discussion about whether or not her mother and father were watching over her. Her granddad had told her that spirits only watch over people when they are disturbed and worried about them. Spirits, when they can fully be at rest and not have any worry about leaving the living world, travel to the spirit world completely.

Despite how Kimiko had reassured Iroh that she and Kazuki were both content and happy with their life, he had told her that her mother's spirit wasn't resting yet. He had simply said that her father's spirit was restless and would forever be.

"Who are you worrying about, Granddad?" She whispered to the wind as she closed her eyes and was convinced that Iroh's spirit was around them. She opened her eyes and continued to look around the garden. She glanced at the castle—it was too big to be called anything else despite her granddad's insistency that it was more of a manor than a castle—and her eyes widened as she spied a face looking out from one of the windows.

"Kazuki," She whispered into her brother's ear as she continued to stare at the face in the window on the top level of the castle/manor. "Look up there,"

Her brother looked at her and followed her gaze up to the castle and he stumbled back onto her toe as he spotted the face. Kimiko held in her cry of pain since the ceremony was still commencing but she shoved her brother off of her foot and moved it closer to her other foot. "Don't make a scene," She hissed into his ear and glanced back at the face that was definitely there and staring back at her.

"Is it one of the guards?" Kazuki whispered over his shoulder as he continued to stare directly at the face.

"Not one that I recognize." Kimiko whispered back. "Is it just me, or is there something wrong with the side of his face." She inquired as she tried to get a better look and squinted her eyes.

"I can't tell, he's too high up." Kazuki responded as he squeezed her hand. They both continued to stare until the face suddenly disappeared. "I think he's…" Kazuki trailed off as suddenly the face was back, with flaming fists pounding against the glass.

"What is he doing?" Kimiko asked, rather loudly, and drew the attention of the others to them. Everyone followed their gaze to the window and suddenly Aang and Sokka were beside them, ushering them away.

"The ceremony is over; it's time to go home now." Sokka explained as he grabbed Kimiko's over hand and affectively dragged her and Kazuki away.

"Who was that in the window?" Kazuki asked as he continued to hold onto his sister's hand and Aang stood behind him, blocking his view of turning around and looking at the figure again.

"What are you talking about? Your eyes must have been playing tricks on you." Aang smiled as he lied to them. He was feeling sick, staring them right in their eyes and lying, but he knew it was for their own protection. If Zuko was sent into an angry state simply by seeing them, who knows how he would actually act if he met them face to face.

"No way," Kazuki argued. "I saw him and Kim saw him, we are not imagining anything and you guys are definitely hiding--"

"Zuki," Kimiko shouted, stopping her brother in mid-rant. "Just stop, if they don't want to tell them, then they don't have to." Kazuki frowned but nodded as he continued to hold her hand and lowered his gaze to the ground.

Aang and Sokka exchanged a pained glance between them but continued to lead the kids away. "Come on," Sokka encouraged as he willed his guilt away. "Let's go tell Auntie Lee and Pam all about the ceremony."

"It's going to be different without Jee around for the next month or so." Aang contributed to the conversation as they both tried their best not to let their guilt get the better of them and tell the truth.

* * *

Jee took a deep breath and glanced at his backup which consisted of Toph, Smellerbee, and Pipsqueak. Long Shot and the Duke were down the hallway, ready in case Zuko got passed everyone else, with a few more guards. 

Reassured with his backup, Jee opened the door and stepped inside. "Lord Zuko," Zuko had his back to Jee, still staring out the window. "Are you--?"

"You lied to me!" Zuko screamed as he let loose a few fireballs in random directions around the room, still keeping his back to Jee. "You kept telling me she was dead, that she was still in the capital, that she wasn't here!" He shouted as he continued to release his anger out on the room and not on Jee himself. "But I saw her! I saw Katara and she was with some other guy!" Zuko spat and turned to face Jee. Jee's eyes widened as he saw the lonely trail of tears running down Zuko's right cheek. "Who was she with?"

"That was her brother," Jee cleared his throat and took a step closer. "But you are mistaken, Zuko, that wasn't Katara, that was Kimi--"

"Liar!" Zuko screamed and blasted two fireballs on both sides of Jee. "I know what Sokka looks like and I know what Katara looks like! That was Katara and some other guy holding hands in my garden. Now tell me who he is; did she remarry? Is that her new husband? Is that her boyfriend?" Zuko asked as he stepped closer to Jee. "Tell her that I will kill him." Zuko hissed as steam rose from his fists at his sides. "Tell Katara that I am going to hold my promise and I will come for her. We are going to be together again, Jee, and no one, not even Katara's new lover, will keep us apart."

Jee opened his mouth, ready to explain and correct Zuko's accusations, when Zuko suddenly pushed him from the room. "I don't want to see any of you again!" Zuko threatened as he slammed the door and stormed back to the window.

He had seen his angel, his hope, his one true love again. And she had been holding some other guy's hand. Their eyes had met and she had only continued to stare at him and continued to hold that guy's hand. Even worse, she had left with him. He had Katara back, but he still couldn't help but feel like she was still lost to him.

* * *

"You have to, Jee; you promised Iroh that you would." Aang reminded the second in command as they sat around the large table. "It's weird," Aang commented absentmindedly. "Now that Iroh's gone, this room suddenly seems its size." 

"True," Jee nodded. "Iroh always brought a sense of home with him wherever he was. And I promised him that I would look after Zuko before I promised him that I'd spread his ashes."

"We'll look after Zuko." Sokka insisted though his voice was stern. "He'll never get past Aang and you know that. You'll have nothing to worry about."

"Besides, if he does somehow get past Aang," Toph added.

"Though he'll only be able to if he has something shiny on hand." Smellerbee interrupted with a smirk as Long Shot elbowed her lightly.

"Right," Toph continued. "He'll then have to get past all of us as well. Besides, he doesn't know where Kimiko and Kazuki are and if he does find out, he'll have to deal with Ty Lee and Sokka."

"I don't want to put you guys in any danger though," Jee argued. "I mean what if he did get off of the grounds and find your home." He looked at Sokka. "I wouldn't be able to stand myself if he hurt Pamela or Ty Lee trying to get to Kimiko."

"I wouldn't let him." Sokka replied. "Besides, Jee, no offense or anything, but Zuko can go through you just as easy as he can go through a paper bag."

"I know, but I can at least always warn you guys." Jee countered.

"Then we'll just set up some sort of alarm system while you're gone." Sokka concluded. "Besides, there is a reason why Iroh asked you to spread his ashes." He paused as Jee's brow furrowed in question. "You haven't taken a vacation in over sixteen years, Jee. Iroh's finally resting; he wants you to as well."

Jee smiled and nodded in submission. "Alright, I'll leave tomorrow as planned. But please don't let me come home to more graves."

"Fine, if someone dies we won't burry them until after you're back." Toph grinned as Smellerbee chuckled and Long Shot sighed.

* * *

"They're lying to us again, aren't they?" Kazuki asked as he strode into his sister's bedroom. They had shared a room as kids but now that they were older they had their separate rooms but still spent just as much time in one room as they did in the two. 

"Of course and now they're having a meeting about it. That's why The Duke and Pipsqueak came over to 'visit with Auntie Lee and Pam.' They want to keep us distracted so that we don't go up to castle and talk to that guy." Kimiko explained as she moved over on her bed to allow room for her brother to lounge as well.

"Who do you think he is?" Kazuki asked.

"I'm not sure, but he has something to do with our father." She frowned and chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "I hope I'm wrong, but I think he might be responsible for our dad's death or something."

"No way, if that guy had killed dad, then Granddad would have killed him long ago or something. They wouldn't keep a murderer like that in the castle." Kazuki argued.

"But you forget that our dad was a murderer too, so was Granddad, and everyone else." Kimiko reminded.

"That was during a time of the war," Kazuki defended. "Everyone was a murderer at that time or else they were dead."

"Exactly, so that guy could have been a murderer as well." Kimiko sighed and rolled onto her stomach as she stretched out on her bed. "I did say that was just what I thought, I know it's not going to be true, but I just hope that it's that instead of my only other thought as to why they have him locked up."

"What do really think?" Kazuki asked as he laid out next to his sister and pillowed his head in his arms.

"I think that he's our father." Kimiko whispered even though all the adults in the house were downstairs.

"What?!" Kazuki yelled and sat up.

"Shush, don't be so loud or else you'll get Pipsqueak up here and you know how hard it is to get rid of him when he suspects something." Kimiko scolded as she tentatively stood and walked to her door. She checked to make sure that the hallway was still empty and then closed the door as she sat back on the bed.

"Why would they keep our own father away from us? And why would they lie and tell us that he died if he was still alive?" Kazuki asked, his disbelief heavy in his tone.

"That's just the thing," Kimiko concluded. "They never really have said that our father was dead as well. They've told us about how our mother died but they never told us the story of our father's death because he _didn't_ die." She stressed. "We've just always assumed that our father was dead as well since he isn't here with us."

"Well, if he's not dead, then why isn't he here with us?" Kazuki asked as he pouted. "I mean, if he'd been alive all these years, then why didn't he come to see us, even just once? He's never been to any of our Birthday parties, he's never helped either of us in bending practice, and he's never been here for anything. If our father has been so close to us our entire life, then why haven't we met him?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a plan to correct that." Kimiko smiled.

"What do you mean?" Kazuki asked as he watched his sister stand up and dig something out of her desk drawer.

"I mean, I have a plan to get into the castle and meet that guy. Whether or not he's our father, he definitely knows something that everyone is trying to keep hidden from us." Kimiko turned around, showing the bundle of rope in her hand. "Remember when we were going to build a tree house and we bought all the supplies but the wood started rotting away due to how damp the summer was?"

"You kept the rope all this time?" Kazuki asked with skepticism as he eyed his sister. "I can't believe you." He grinned and rose from her bed to go to her window.

"Well, we did both agree that my tree was better for climbing." She grinned and tied one of her spare shoes to the rope as she twirled it and threw it out the window to wrap around the tree. She missed and sighed as she reeled the rope back in to try again. "It would be easier if we were like Uncle Aang."

"A lot of things would be easier if we were like Uncle Aang," Kazuki reminded her as he took the rope from her and successfully secured the rope around the long tree branch. "I'll go first." He grinned and handed her the rope to tie to the doorknob.

She gave him a thumbs up and he started out the window, wrapping his legs around the rope, as he used his arms to climb out to the limb. Once he got to the tree branch, he shimmied down the tree branch and landed on the ground and gave a thumbs up back to her, telling her that everything was alright and it was her turn.

Kimiko followed suit and in minutes was standing next to her brother on the ground. "Now what?" He asked her and she grinned as her answer and started to run, knowing that her brother would get the idea and follow behind. She didn't stop running until she was at the front of the castle.

"Come on, we'll go around and enter through the garden entrance. It's easier and the staircase is closer by so there's a lesser chance of anyone spying us." Kimiko explained as she stopped to catch her breath. She began walking around the castle until her brother's hand fell on her shoulder.

"Why are we doing this tonight when everyone is here?" Kazuki asked.

Kimiko shrugged. "Because we're rash teenagers and didn't think this fully through." She grinned and continued around the castle. "But if anyone asked, we did it on purpose because we weren't sure who this guy is and if it turns out he is some crazy murderer out for blood, then we knew that we would have our guardians around to help us."

"Good plan," Kazuki grinned as he followed diligently behind his sister. They walked to the back of the castle and both stopped in front of their granddad's grave for a moment of silence. Kimiko grabbed Kazuki's hand again and then started to lead him toward the door. Kimiko pushed the door open and took a deep breath before she entered. She was half surprised that no one was there waiting for them since most of her plans were predicted beforehand.

"Alright, the close is clear." They quickly ran inside and then paused for a millisecond before they raced up the stairs. "Top floor," Kimiko reminded her brother as he ran past her.

"Right, it's probably that room down the hall from Granddad's that they never let us get near." Kazuki predicted, since it would make sense.

They both froze at the top of the stairway and slowly moved down the hallway to the turn that would lead them past Iroh's bedroom and to the predicted room which held their answers and perhaps their father.

"Kimie," Kazuki swallowed hard and looked at his sister. "We don't have to do this," he paused, "if you don't want to."

"What?" She smiled. "Are you trying to tell me you're scared? Zuki, there's nothing to be scared about. I'll admit that I'm a bit nervous, but I'm more excited than anything else. I mean, I just really hope that he is our dad and that he'll have all the answers for us. That he can reassure us why he couldn't be with us all these years and just…I want him to be our dad and I really want a hug from him. Does that sound stupid?" She asked, a bit self-consciously.

"No," Kazuki smiled. "In fact, that sounds really nice. I…I want a hug too but I just can't shake the feeling that there's a reason why Uncle Sokka and Granddad and the others kept him hidden from us. If he's not who we hope he is I'll give you a hug if you still want it." Kimiko smiled back at her brother and he blushed. "I just don't want you to have your hopes crushed."

She held out her hand to him. "We're going to do this as a family. And if it turns out he's not our father, we'll learn whatever we can from him and then approach Uncle Sokka for more answers tomorrow. If our dad is still alive, we'll find him, someday."

"Alright," Kazuki agreed and gripped her hand tightly as they stared slowly down the hall. "We'll do it together, like a family, just like we always will."

"Always," Kimiko promised as they stopped in front of the door. They stood silently in front of it, subconsciously holding their breaths. "Should we knock?"

"The door's locked." Kazuki noted as he looked at the three locks on the door. "Even if we do knock, I don't think he'll be able to let us in."

"I'm starting to rethink this," Kimiko decided as she looked at the locks worriedly.

"Well, I'm willing to take the risk." Kazuki released her hand and started to unlock the locks. He jumped and Kimiko shrieked when two hands landed on their shoulders simultaneously.

They slowly turned to face Long Shot and Smellerbee. "You two better have a great explanation as to why you're up here." Smellerbee glared as she tightened her hold on Kazuki's shoulder.

The twins frowned and looked at each other for an idea before Kazuki timidly spoke up. "We got lost?"

"Right, well, now you're going to get un-lost and follow us downstairs to the dining room. Like you two don't know, but we're having a meeting." Smellerbee smirked. "I'm sure your uncle is going to love this." Both teenagers paled. "Come on, follow me, Long Shot will lock up."

Kazuki and Kimiko reluctantly nodded and followed Smellerbee down the hallway and down the stairs, holding each other's hand for support, subconsciously assuring the other that they weren't alone in the world.

* * *

"You two are being deceitful and irresponsible. You have no idea what you were getting yourselves into." Sokka shouted as he paced in front of them. Aang was standing behind Kimiko's chair, a stern frown on his face, and Toph was behind Kazuki, frowning and shaking her head with her disappointment. "Not only did you two sneak out but you purposely put yourselves into danger by sneaking around at night. Someone might have kidnapped you or done some other unforgivable deed to you two and we would have never known. Do you know how much Ty Lee would worry if she went up to your rooms and found you two missing and rope going down from your window? I can't believe you two would--" 

"Just tell us who he is and why he's locked up in that room. We won't try to see him again if we know your reasons for keeping him away from us!" Kimiko insisted as she interrupted Sokka's yelling with her own.

The group of adults all passed worried looks around themselves. "I don't think you two are ready to know that yet." Aang insisted as he frowned apologetically to them.

"Why not? I mean, the whole thing started when Katara was their age." Toph argued as she stepped around the chairs and walked up to Sokka. "I think it's high time we stopped beating around the bush and let them know."

"Yeah, what right do we have keeping something like this from them?" Smellerbee approached Sokka as well and he looked worriedly between the two girls.

"I…well; it's just that so much has happened today. Maybe we should wait for another night, a calmer night." Sokka suggested and both girls glared. "Alright," he finally succumbed and Kimiko and Kazuki instantly brightened as they sat up in their seats. "But I don't know where to start."

"I do," Jee spoke up from his seat at the table. Kimiko and Kazuki turned their chairs around and scooted them to the table. Everyone else took their own seats around the table and settled themselves for the story. "And I might as well just start at the beginning of the story."

"I'll make some tea." Sokka stood up and headed into the kitchen.

"Well, you two know how your father originally kidnapped your mother to use at bait for Aang, right?" The twins nodded and Jee sighed. "Alright, then I'll skip to when he proposed to her. It had been a few months after Katara had been on the ship and we were getting close to Fire Nation territories when Zuko spotted these islands…"


	4. My Adapted Family

**A.N. **Alright, my break is over and it's back to school now. I still feel horrible about breaking my word about the updates and I'm going to try to make up for that still. I'm going to attempt to update as much as I can but I won't set any dates but I'll make one promise to post at least twice every month until this tale is done. I believe this story will only be around twenty-five chapters, half the length of the prequel.

Also, I just want to help people understand the plot a bit more so here's a bit of information about Zuko. He doesn't believe that he has children. He pushed all of that knowledge of their brith out of his mind when he lost Katara and his thoughts turned simply to memories of her and ways of how he could get back to her. He no longer cares about ruling the Fire Nation or his title and it actually bothers him when Jee still calls him 'Lord' because it reminds him of everything he had lost. He still believes that he had left Katara while she was 'sick' and that she's waiting for him to find her again. It would be nice if he became sane again and then became the great father he could be, but after being locked up for sixteen years under careful eyes and locked doors, it's unlikely that it will ever happen unless Katara suddenly came back to him.

* * *

My Love Is Eternal 

Chapter 4

**My Adapted Family**

Kazuki stood from his chair in the middle of Jee's sentence and tossed a glare over his shoulder as he stormed out of the room. "Zuki," Smellerbee and Long Shot got up to follow. "Wait, Zuki, you have to understand." She begged as they trailed behind him to try and comfort him.

"What I understand," Kazuki stopped once he had turned the corner of the hallway leading away from the dining room, far out of hearing range of the others. "Is that for my entire life I thought my mother and father were dead because they made some sort of 'sacrifice of love,' as Aang always called it, by dying during our birth. Now I find out that my mother might have loved us but she's definitely dead while our father's alive and well but just hates us too much to want to see us." He shouted, gripping his hands at his sides as they shook from his unreleased anger.

"Zuki," Smellerbee stepped forward, a frown on her face, as she called him by his beloved nick name. "Your father's not well, though, we've all have known from the beginning that he was crazy and after your mother died, he finally just lost all of it."

"And he blames Kimiko and me for her death. He blames us so much that he never once held us, never once looked at us; he just disowned us and forced us onto our only living relatives who had to deal with the emotional pain of losing someone they had loved and only took us in because they were on a rebound of that lose." His shout was still as angry but the tears streaming down his face betrayed his anger for the pain that it truly was.

"Zuki," Smellerbee took another cautious step forward and reached out to comfort him when he took a step back and shook his head.

"Don't touch me." He ducked his head and tried to bite back his sobs as the tears continued to stream down his face. Long Shot frowned and shook his head as he stepped forward and pulled Kazuki into an embrace. Smellerbee wiped at her eyes and wrapped her arms around Kazuki as well.

"Zuki, you have to understand that taking you in was never a burden to Sokka and Ty Lee. They loved you and your sister the day the saw you and they will always love you two, not just as a replacement for Katara and Zuko but for being Kimiko and Kazuki." Smellerbee's arms shook as she pressed a kiss into Kazuki's messy, dark hair. "When Long Shot and I lost our only chance to start our own family, we were devastated. But he reminded me that we already had a family, that we had already helped start it. We may only be friends to the family, but we helped raise you two and we fell in love with you just as much as Ty Lee and Sokka did. We've always considered you two as our own son and daughter. You know that, don't you?"

Kazuki was quiet for a moment as he continued to press and hide his sobbing face against Long Shot's shoulder. Finally, he reluctantly spoke up. "Yes, I know. And I love you two as well." He pulled away from Long Shot and the archer wiped a tear from his cheek as he offered the boy a smile. "You two were as much as a mother and father to Kimiko and me as Sokka and Ty Lee. I actually always used to think that I wasn't misfortunate for losing my parents, because I had two sets of parents and a lot of other friends that raised me instead. I mean, no one but Kimiko and me were taught how to aim with the accuracy of the legendary Yu Yan archers and how to wield a dagger at the age of five."

Long Shot's smile fell and he looked narrowly at Smellerbee. "You weren't supposed to tell him that I taught you when you were that young, you idiot!" She playfully slapped his shoulder and he chuckled as he wiped the last remaining tears from his eyes. "I'm just lucky I never have to deal with any long nags from him, just the evil eye for about a week or so." Smellerbee grinned, knowing that getting the evil eye for a whole year was worth it to see Kazuki's smiling face again.

* * *

After Kazuki stormed from the room, Jee, Sokka, Toph, and Aang had all waited for Kimiko to follow after her brother as well or just start yelling at them. They knew that she was angry; she had a right to be, after all, since they had been lying to her for her entire life. Still, they all swallowed nervously at the thought of facing Kimiko's wrath, even Toph was fidgeting in her chair at the thought of being on the receiving end of a vicious Kimiko's rant. 

Her temper was as powerful as her father's sometimes and she could accuse with the force of her mother's words, causing even the most self-centered man to feel guilty and lower than dirt.

The silence hung in the air as all eyes stared at Kimiko in waiting, her own eyes cast downward to her lap as she continually stroked her mother's necklace. What seemed like an eternity later, she looked up and met Jee's gaze straight on. He didn't flinch as he noticed that her eyes weren't filled with the fiery shine of her temper, but instead a sparkling of understanding. "We won't be allowed to visit our father, will we?"

Jee looked at Sokka and then at Aang as he sought an answer but didn't find the one he knew she wanted to hear. "I'm sorry, but he's too unstable. The way your father's mind works isn't correct and he's always had a short and dangerous temper."

She held up her hand and he closed his mouth. "Say no more. You guys are afraid from us and, well, I understand why. From what you've told, Jee, my father has always had an abusive history. I can understand why you've all felt the need to protect us from that from the beginning." She stood up slowly and turned her back to the table and all three of them.

As she walked to the door, she paused in the doorway and Aang and Sokka shot up from their seats, fearing that she may faint from emotional drain or try to dash up to tear down her father's door. "Kimie, are you alright?" Sokka asked attentively as he lightly placed his hand on her shoulder.

She spun around, her glare as icy as her mother's origins. "I'm perfectly fine for finding out the truth after sixteen years of being fed lies." She snarled and Sokka pulled his hand back, afraid that she might lose control and end up burning him. "You all covered up my parent's true lives and tried to pass it off as some sort of fairy tale version. You made it seem like they were a perfect couple and that they were both dead. You just told us what you thought we would want to hear and--" She broke off and bit her bottom lip as flames started to erupt around her hands. Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed herself down and the flames died down as well.

"I expect the truth from now on about everything. If my father tries to escape again, tell us instead of holding a secret meeting and keeping us in the dark. Whether you guys like it or not, he's our father and he's our family just as much as you all are. I want to help him as much as I can without anyone ending up hurt or put into a dangerous position." Her steady glare passed between Aang and Sokka as she spoke. "I want you both to know that I'll forgive you this time for the lies because I understand that we were young and you only had out best interests in heart. But I expect to be kept updated on my father and if I find out that you guys are holding anything else from me," Her glare narrowed even more to finish her threat. Aang gulped and Sokka nodded as she turned from the room to find her brother.

"Well, I think we got off rather easy." Toph commented as she tipped back in her chair, rocking the sturdy oak legs.

"Sokka, should we have told her that Zuko…" Aang asked after he was sure she was out of earshot.

"Of course not, Aang," Sokka shook his head and looked back to Jee. "I don't want her to know that her father's," he paused for a moment, his anger toward Zuko, still strong even to this day, glazing over the features of fear he had only a moment ago. "Lusting after her in a freaky perverse way and wants Kazuki dead all because he's too screwed up to realize the difference between his daughter and my sister and won't listen to reason." Sokka stomped back to the table and resumed his seat at the head of the table, to the left of Jee who was nursing his first cup of tea still. "Maybe it's about time I took a vacation as well." He mumbled to himself as he leaned into the chair and cupped his head.

"You could go with Jee if you want to, Sokka." Aang suggested as he sauntered over to the table and took his previous seat as well. "I mean, it was decided that Smellerbee would be the one taking over mostly for Jee since she's the only one of that Zuko still kind of likes. And of course I'm going to be acting as backup around the palace while she's caring for him. I could easily watch over Kimiko and the others as well if you wanted to--"

"Aang," Sokka interrupted and lifted his head, a small, tired smile creeping onto his face. "Thanks for offering and everything but I didn't mean it. I can't take a vacation and I don't particularly want to. I mean, Pam is about to turn two months and there's no way I'm leaving her and Ty Lee, even if someone offered me my own island complete with a never-ending buffet." Sokka grinned and absentmindedly licked his lips at the thought. "But still, a vacation when Pamela is older would be nice and I know that Kimiko and Kazuki would be thrilled to travel. Yeah, I see a family vacation in my future."

"That would be nice," Toph contributed as she cracked her knuckles and Aang cringed. He still wasn't fond of that habit of hers, despite that they had been married for six years. "We all should take a vacation in, oh I don't usually plan this far ahead, but what the heck, let's say in about two years give or take a few weeks or months?" The boys all stared at her but she simply nodded her head and continued to talk. "Right, in two years we'll all take another adventure on Appa, check out our other friends, see how the world is doing, all that stuff. Aang, you're due to make a world trip by then right? Just to show people that you aren't slipping on your Avatarly duties, right?"

"Um, yeah, but, Toph, I don't know what that has to do with Sokka taking a vacation." Aang frowned, confusion clearly written on his face though that wouldn't help his blind wife figure it out.

"Come on, Twinkle Toes," Again, Aang cringed. The nick name was more embarrassing than anything else now that he was a rather well built man and no longer a fumbling twelve year old. Besides, Toph had told Aang that he wasn't allowed to call her by a pet name so why wouldn't she stop with his ridiculous nick name? "Use your head more often. I'm talking about a big vacation, just like what we used to do. We can get someone to watch over Zuko, all of us hop onto Appa, and just relax and travel over the world like we used to. Well, not exactly like we all used to, huh, Jee? But I know you'll find Appa comfortable; you do get used to flying on the giant beast, eventually, I think I'm almost there." She grinned.

"Wait a moment, Toph, are you suggesting all of us go on a vacation?" Jee asked as he concentrated on his tea until it started to steam again and slowly began to sip it.

"Of course I am. Sokka said he wanted to take a family vacation after all. We're all one big, happy, and stressed filled family. Besides, it would be just like old times and that would help remove most of the stress. Especially if we got away from this town," Toph pounded her fist on the table, shaking the table and everyone in their chairs. "I still say that you guys chose this town purely for the fact that it's isolated from the rest of the world better than Kyoshi Island ever was."

"We all agreed that this town was for the best, despite how behind in the world it might be." Sokka frowned and up righted his empty tea cup that had over turned during Toph's ricochet from her fist on the table. "Besides, when you and Aang travel to the other cities every week, we're kept updated enough by what you guys find out."

"That may be true, but it's not really enough, Sokka." She argued and flipped a long strand of her black hair behind her shoulder. "The last time we were there we only caught rumors about who the Earth Kingdom was choosing to appoint as the new Fire Lord but we didn't have enough time to find out too much about the choices. I know I've said this before--"

"Then you don't have to say it again." Sokka whined.

"—But I'm sick of hiding in this town. We've become cowards in avertedly because of hiding here." She continued on, despite Sokka's obvious view on the repeated topic. "We missed out on the last part of the war. We should have been out but we were settling here instead. We could have--"

"Could have what, Toph? Changed the outcome of that war so that the Earth Kingdom didn't win and saved the savaged Fire Nation citizens—no offence, Jee—that couldn't even attempt to pull their destroyed armies back together in time to stop the takeover because they couldn't agree on a new leader themselves without some sort of barbaric way of proving themselves?" Sokka folded his hands over his chest and set his shoulders. "Those brutes couldn't save themselves, even if they did have our help. After all, it was karma."

"But it wasn't their faults, Sokka." Aang defended as he looked from Toph to Sokka, once again forced to play the neutral view between the two's argument. "The soldiers were raised up like that. There was nothing we could have done but no one deserved to be wiped out like that. But still, even when I did tell the Earth Kingdom how appalled I was by their actions, they didn't care because they had that same thickheaded viewpoint, Sokka. Really, you're only sinking to their level when you massacre them like they massacred you."

"We still could have tried to help." Toph always had to get in the last word for all arguments. Sokka sighed and simply closed his eyes and began to rub at his temples, feeling the huge headache he was expecting. "Kazuki's better now." She announced just as the twins, Smellerbee, and Long Shot walked back into the room.

"Alright," The three men's heads picked up and they looked at the two determined teenagers. Both of them had their hands folded over their chests with their shoulders set, tanned skin faces unemotional, and their brunette hair pulled back, Kazuki donning his short ponytail and Kimiko her usual long braid that hung down at her lower back. "I don't have anything to add to Kimie's demands." Kazuki announced. "Now we're going to walk back home,"

"Accompanied by Smellerbee and Long Shot, of course," Kimiko added as she rolled her eyes.

"And apologize to Auntie Lee, Pipsqueak, and the Duke for scaring them and deceiving them." Kazuki finished and unfolded his arms.

"Goodnight," They spoke in unison and both bowed their heads as they turned on their heels and walked out of the room. Long Shot waved his goodnight and Smellerbee saluted them with her pointer finger.

"They're getting really good at that creepy twin thing." Toph commented. "Their footsteps are even the same; I can hardly tell the difference between them. If it wasn't for the fact that Kazuki applies more weight on his heels than Kimiko does, I probably couldn't tell."

"They grew up with each other," Aang smiled and turned to Sokka, still in the same defensive position that the twins had been in. "You act like your family when you grow up; it's simply how you were raised and no one can fix that."

* * *

"Lord Zuko," Jee stood in the doorway, Toph and Aang behind him in the hallway in case Zuko tried to run out or do something dangerous. "I'm leaving now to deliver out your uncle's final wishes." He announced as he watched Zuko's face reflected in the metal window that Toph had spent hours working on to bend it enough to make it become clear and look like glass. 

"Be safe, Jee." Zuko mumbled, still not turning away from the window. His hands were clasped behind his back, his feet were shoulder length apart, and his glare was still heated even through his reflection.

"Thank you, my Lord, I will be. I just wanted to remind you that I'll only be gone for two weeks at the most and that Smellerbee, well, you might remember her as Jin--"

"I remember who Smellerbee is, Jee, I'm not stupid. Besides, it's not like I haven't seen her and her friends since the last time they stopped me from escaping." Zuko snapped as he interrupted his nervous and loyal friend.

"Right, forgive me, my Lord." Jee watched as Zuko rolled his eyes in the reflection. "But as I was saying, Smellerbee will be taking over my normal duties while I'm gone and the rest of her friends will be watching you even closer than they normally do." His tone was slightly warning but the plea was obvious before he even voiced it. "Please, Zuko, don't try to escape while I'm gone. You should give up trying to run away and put your effort more into trying to get better. We can hire you doctors still; it's not too late for you to get better and I know--"

"Jee," Zuko turned his head, looking over his left shoulder, his scar illuminated on his face by the slowly rising sun outside the window. "Aren't you going to be late for your ship?" He asked, his eye glaring viciously as he bore into Jee.

Hesitantly, Jee nodded. "Just," he sighed, "try to be good, please, Zuko."

"Goodbye, Jee, enjoy your trip." Zuko turned back to the window and continued to watch the sun rise. Jee sighed again and walked out of the room, closing and locking the door behind him.

"It's the beginning of a beautiful day." Zuko spoke aloud as he continued to gaze out across the backyard. He had yet to sleep since Iroh's burying ceremony and had kept to the windows, hoping to catch another glance at Katara. He had spotted her and that other boy the night before, sneaking into his house. He knew that she wouldn't be able to stay away from him, despite the other boy. He knew for sure that the other guy was there simply to try and turn her away from him and to stop Katara from reaching him. Zuko wasn't surprised at all that Katara was still naturally drawn to him though.

"We're meant to be together, Katara," He carried on his with one sided conversation. "You know better than to find another guy to try and replace me, but it is alright, I forgive you." He unclasped his hands and brought them to rest against the window. Taking a deep breath, he heated his palms and watched at the clear metal started to heat as well.

The window frame was made of oak wood and began to crack and creak due to the advanced heat of the actual window as Zuko continued to focus. He controlled his breathing, making sure that he did this correctly or else his plans for later would be ruined, and took a deep breath through his mouth and released it out of his nose. Finally, the window frame cracked completely and fell down to the garden below in pieces.

Zuko quickly grabbed the bended metal and set it up against the wall by his window. He removed the hidden ripped and tied sheets out from under his bed and tied one end of the makeshift rope to the headboard of his bed and threw the rest out of the no-longer-covered window. The sheets stopped a foot or so off of the ground but Zuko was confident enough to know that he'd survive a landing from that height.

"Here I come, Katara." He wrapped the rope behind his lower back and held the long end leading out of the window in his right hand and the part that was tethered to his headboard in his left as he slowly eased himself backwards out of the window, allowing the rope to slide through his hands the further he belayed down the castle wall.

He landed with a soft thud and grunt on the ground. "I really need to get out more," Zuko sighed to himself as he straightened and batted at the swinging rope. "Oh wait," he paused and looked around. "I guess I finally am." He smiled at his own joke and began to whistle as he walked calmly around in the garden. He stopped in front of Iroh's grave and frowned.

"Well, Uncle, you always told me that you hated it when I spent my days cooped up in my room but I wanted to be alone and I could only be alone in my room since if I left, you or Jee or a million different guards became my shadow. Now I won't be cooped up in my room anymore," he smirked. "And soon, I won't be alone anymore. I don't know why you kept Katara away from me all of these years, but I'm going to get her back now."

He turned away from the grave and walked out of the backyard and stopped at the edge of the castle as he peered down at the small town basked in the slight morning glow. "Katara, I know you're down there and I hope you know that I'm going to find you. Once you're mine again, Katara, I'm not going to let you go."

* * *

Kimiko sat up straight in her bed, sweat clinging to her face as she panted and her crystal blue eyes gazed around the room. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself as an eerie feeling passed over her. Quietly, she crept from her bed and into the hallway. She tiptoed past Pamela's nursery and Sokka and Ty Lee's bedroom and pushed opened Kazuki's door. 

She closed the door behind her and Kazuki shot up in his own bed. "Who's there?" He mumbled sleepily as he put his fists up and tried to blink the sleep out of his eyes.

"Shut up and go back to sleep," Kimiko whispered as she crossed his room and climbed into bed next to him. "I just had a bad dream."

"Oh, okay." Kazuki yawned and laid back down next to his sister. They had always gone to one another's room when they were little and had a nightmare, seeking comfort and a safe presence that they relied on. "Sleep well,"

"Sleep well, Zuki." She smiled and rested her head on the extra pillow her brother always kept for her.

* * *

Zuko turned his back on the castle and began to walk to the back woods. He knew that the woods in front of the castle led to the Fire Nation capital but he was no longer concerned with things there since his goal laid in the still slumbering village. 

Ducking below a branch, he made his way through the woods, not really sure where he was heading but knowing that he needed somewhere to stay until he could spring his plan into action. He knew that there had to be a neighboring city or another town somewhere and wherever that was it would be close enough to Katara. He would buy a disguise, in case anyone would recognize his scar, and also a place where he could settle and prepare for Katara. The gold coins he had stuffed into his pocket would be enough, he was sure.

He wanted everything to be perfect when Katara joined him again. "It will be perfect," he growled as he snapped a branch under his boots and continued to trump through the forest.


	5. My Past Remains

**A.N. **Yay for updates, right? Yeah, well this one doesn't have too much going on. I just wanted to work on a background for Pipsqueak a bit, which is completely made up since we know nothing about the lovable giant, and set up the town where Zuko's hiding out in since the setting will be there, mostly, from now on.

* * *

My Love Is Eternal

Chapter 5

**My Past Remains**

Sokka ran from the castle, the sun already pretty high in the sky, as he followed the shadow from Aang on his glider back to his house. He willed his legs to move faster as he pumped his arms rapidly. They had to get back to the house as quick as possible, warn Ty Lee and the others, hide Kimiko and Kazuki if worse came to worse.

Aang reached the house first and by the time Sokka re-threw the door open, Ty Lee was signing frantically, Pam was crying on her lap, and Aang was standing deadly still in front of Kimiko's room.

"She's not here." Aang turned and looked down at Sokka, his eyes wide with his fear. "Sokka, she's not here!"

"Check Kazuki's room!" Sokka shouted as he bounded up the stairs and got to Kazuki's bedroom first. "Kimiko!" He shouted as he pushed the door open with all his force.

Kimiko and Kazuki sat up in bed, blinking their sleep away. "What?" Kimiko asked as she yawned. "I just had another nightmare. Sorry," She stretched and Aang and Sokka released a deep sigh each. "What time is it?" She asked as she looked from one uncle to the other.

"What's going on?" Kazuki asked as he rubbed at his eyes, trying to get the last bit of sleep out. "Why are you guys so sweaty? Did we miss today's training session already or something?"

"No, don't worry about it." Sokka grabbed the door handle again. "Just, go back to sleep you two; there won't be any training or chores today." He closed the door, a grin on his face as he turned to Aang.

They started down the hallway and made it to the top of the stairs before the door slammed open again and the twins rushed out. "Okay, something is seriously wrong if training and chores are cancelled." Kimiko stated as she folded her arms over her blue nightshirt and glared, intimidating the older males. "You never let us skip chores and training, not even on our Birthday."

"Yeah, what gives?" Kazuki asked as he copied his sister's stance. "You two better tell us, less you forget that Kimie isn't a morning person." He warned just as Kimiko's eyes narrowed another notch.

Sokka gulped and tried to retreat down the stairs when Ty Lee appeared before him, Pam bouncing on her hip, while she glared at him. "Aang…a little help here?" Sokka asked, begging, as he looked from one angry woman to the next and then at his friend.

"Why don't we all get some breakfast and Sokka will explain everything?" Aang offered, none too helpfully. Kimiko looked over at Ty Lee and the muted woman nodded and turned on her toes as she bounded down the stairs, earning a little laugh from Pamela. Kimiko followed after her and Kazuki smirked as he followed his sister down the stairs.

"Busted," he muttered as he ran to avoid being hit from Sokka.

"Thanks, Aang." Sokka whispered sarcastically. "You just bought me a one way ticket to my speedy doom instead of my slow and painful doom."

"Always here to help, Sokka," Aang grinned and Sokka resisted the temptation to smack him. It didn't hold out and he punched Aang in the shoulder. "Ow," Aang complained as he rubbed his shoulder.

"I hope it leaves a bruise." Sokka hissed as he walked down the stairs and sat down at the table. He fiddled with an apple out of the bowl of fruit that was always on the table, keeping his hands busy and giving him an excuse to not look up at all the eyes that were without a doubt boring into him.

"Well?" Kazuki prompted and Sokka kicked him under the table. "Ow, Auntie Lee, Sokka kicked me."

The good thing about having a mute wife was that if he didn't look at her, she couldn't scold or nag at him. The bad thing about that wife being a contortionist of sorts and ex-circus worker was that she could reach across the table and smack him upside the head without disturbing the baby in her arm.

"Ow," he rubbed at his head and looked up to see both Kazuki and Aang with smug expressions on their faces. Kimiko, unfortunately, caught his eye and he couldn't look away, for fear that she would set him on fire if he did.

"What's going on?" She demanded. "Does it have to do with our dad?" She suspected as she looked from Aang to Sokka accusingly.

"I'm afraid it does," Sokka sighed and tossed the apple in the air only to snatch it with his other hand and take a big bite out of it. "Youth cea," he started as he spat bits of apple out onto the table as he talked.

"Ew, that's disgusting!" Kimiko swiped off a piece of the apple that had landed on her. "Finish chewing and then start telling us what you did wrong."

Sokka glared and swallowed, hitting his chest to force the food down quickly without blocking his airways too much—heaven knew he didn't need any more air circulation to get caught off from his brain—and sat the apple on the table as he gestured wildly with his hands at himself and then Aang. "I didn't mess up!" He insisted. "If anything, you should be blaming Aang. He's the one who was supposed to be watching Zuko. Some Avatar, couldn't even watch some have crazy guy locked in a room."

"Hey!" Aang shouted, insulted. "I was taking Jee to the harbors so he could catch his ship on time. What were you doing when Zuko escaped? Eating pastries and drinking more tea?"

"Sokka," Ty Lee signed as she balanced Pamela. "You know you're on a diet. Too many sweets at your age isn't good for you."

"I know but the chief up at the castle always makes these pink little bready things with this creamy filling and I just couldn't stop myself." Sokka licked his lips at the memory. "Besides, Toph was the one who started the challenge of how many we could eat in under a minute and I couldn't let her win, not after that last time when she--"

"Wait a minute!" Kazuki interrupted as he stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "You're saying that our father escaped from the castle?" The deafening silence that followed his accusation told him that he was correct. "Well then why are we all just sitting here? We should be out there looking for him!" He started for the door but Sokka leaped from his chair and grabbed a hold of his wrists. "Let go! We have to find him! He's mentally ill and can't fend for himself; he's probably so confused and lost and…" He trailed off as he noticed that he was crying. "And he has no one with him." His voice fell to a whisper but the room was quiet enough for everyone else to hear him. "I always at least had Kimiko and I don't want my dad to be alone like I use to think I was."

"Kazuki, your dad is a loner by nature, he'll be fine." Sokka smiled in reassurance as he released his arms and wiped the tears from his face with his thumb. "He knows how to fend for himself, that's one thing I'll always give your dad credit for. Zuko was always one hell of a survivor."

"Besides, Toph and the others have already started to look for him and have warned the village." Aang added.

"Warn? Warn them from what?" Kimiko suddenly spoke up, as she broke her intense gaze that she was holding with Sokka's forgotten apple. "Are you saying that our dad would really hurt people?"

"He's emotionally unstable and he'll do whatever he has to in order to find you two." Aang sighed as he came out and told what Sokka was hoping to hide.

"Find us? You mean our dad broke out of the castle just because he wants to see us? Why didn't you guys just let us go talk to him or something?" Kazuki yelled as he turned from Aang to Sokka, his glare harsh and condemning.

"Because he doesn't want to find you two so he can apologize for being a whacko and try to make up for lost time!" Sokka shouted and ran a hand through his tied back hair. "He thinks," he paused as he took a calming deep breath. "He thinks that Kimiko is Katara and that you're her replacement husband."

"Ew," Kimiko's face scrunched up with her disgust.

"Gross!" Kazuki made a barfing gesture and Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well it gets better. He broke out so he could kidnap 'Katara' and kill you." He pointed from Kimiko to Kazuki. "He doesn't understand that you two are his children, not his deceased wife and competition. Zuko won't stop until he finds you both and he won't think twice to kill you," Kazuki paled, "and to kidnap you." Kimiko gulped.

"So, what are we going to do?" Kimiko asked as she bit at her bottom lip. "If my dad thinks I'm my mom, then I really don't want to be alone with him. I mean, what if he tried to kiss me or something? That would just be so awkward and wrong and just really, really messed up." She shuddered her disgust and disproval of the situation and Ty Lee placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "So, what are we going to do?" She asked again and looked hopefully at Aang and then to Sokka.

"You two are both going to stay in this house, with someone around at all times, until we catch him. And that's all you have to worry about." Sokka assured them as he patted Kazuki on the shoulder. "Now, don't think about this anymore and eat some breakfast. Aang and I are going to go help the others search in the woods. Ty Lee, don't answer the door without checking beforehand to see who it is, alright?" She nodded and he strode over to her and quickly kissed her pouting lips. "Don't worry; I know how to handle Zuko." He reassured her even though she didn't look at all convinced. He ducked his head and kissed Pamela's forehead. "We'll be back before it gets dark."

"Be safe you guys." Aang called out as he opened the door and threw his glider, taking into the sky with it. Sokka pressed two fingers to his temple and saluted as he closed the door behind him.

"Well," Kazuki shuffled awkwardly on his feet. "Why don't we have some breakfast and just try to forget about this? I mean, Uncle Sokka and Aang can handle everything, right? Besides, it's not like our dad is just going to knock on the door and--"

A loud knock on the door interrupted Kazuki and he looked at Kimiko and Ty Lee with wide eyes as he opened the door. Sokka stood in the doorway, his hands angrily on his hips. "I thought it would be you." Kazuki grinned. "What did you forget?"

"I forgot to remind you guys not to open the door!" Sokka shouted as he closed the door in his own face. "Now, don't open this door unless whoever it is calls out who they are!"

Kazuki grinned and shook his head as he looked at his sister who was containing her laughs. Ty Lee rolled her eyes and handed Pamela's sleeping form to Kimiko. "What do you guys want for breakfast?" She signed as she eagerly stood from the table. "I got some eggs from the neighbor for a good price."

* * *

"That much for eggs?" Zuko shouted as he slammed down a few coins. "I should have you arrested; that's robbery if I've ever heard it."

"You pay for what you get, sir." The sales lady stated as she scooped up the coins and handed over a basket filled with round, white eggs with brown speckles. "Our chicken pigs are the best in the village and their eggs are guaranteed to make you start your morning off with a smile, which you desperately need." She scowled as she flipped a lock of her black hair behind her broad shoulders. "Now, is there anything else you need? We also have the finest cow pigs and cow hippos if you'd like any particular type of milk or meat."

"No, I'm fine with the eggs for now. But, thank you, for the offer." Zuko tugged his cloak farther down his face as he continued to scowl. "But I'll return tomorrow to buy whatever my wife will want."

The shop keeper's face immediately brightened. "Oh you're married, are you? Why hide your face behind such a nasty old cloak then? I'm sure your wife wouldn't mind if you allowed us lucky gals at least a look." She nudged him with her elbow as she winked.

"I think it's best if I leave my cloak on." Zuko tugged the hood of his cloak farther still, making sure to keep his face hidden in shadow.

"Alright, mister…" She trailed off, leaving room for Zuko to insert his name but he did no such thing. She sighed and continued. "If you think it's best to keep up the mysterious man disguise then go for it. But we'll get the dirt on you and your little housewife sooner or later. You did just buy the old Pattersons' cabin, right?" She motioned to the small cabin on the outskirts of the woods. Zuko didn't nod or move but she seemed to take that as affirmation. "Right, so you're new to town. You'll realize that we're not as bad as people say we are. Here in Natville we treat each other well, if you'll excuse all of the affairs and robbers, at least."

"Thanks for the reassurance." Zuko mumbled. He knew that Natville was always the slum city of the Fire Nation, but he never expected it to be so bad. He was wrong.

"It's just because of the lack of men in this village. Most of us here are runaway brides and wives from those abusive thugs we once called husbands." The shop keeper sighed and shook her head as she suddenly outstretched her hand. "But it's always good to see a new happy couple here. I should properly introduce myself now; I'm Ms. Leigh. Don't be a shy neighbor now." Zuko took her hand and gently shook it. "My, what a strong handshake you have Mr.…?"

"Jin, Mr. Jin. It was nice meeting you, Ms. Leigh. And thank you again for the eggs, even though they are a bit pricey." Zuko forced a smile to show that no harm was meant.

Ms. Leigh smiled back, showing her teeth and the few gaps where there was a lack thereof. "Well, a lady has to make a living some way."

"I suppose you're right. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get home." Zuko nodded his head and started to walk up the dirt trail that led to his isolated cabin.

"Make sure to bring your wife tomorrow!" Ms. Leigh called out as she waved her goodbyes. Zuko grimaced as he caught a few heads turn toward him in the street.

Most of the people in the town were girls and their children and most of those girls didn't know any type of trade so they were forced to either beg or sell what they had. Zuko could barely stomach the village but it didn't matter sense he got what he wanted, though not at a cheap price.

His cabin wasn't big, two rooms with a connecting outhouse. But it was secluded away from the rest of the town and close to the woods. It was exactly what he needed. He had already purchased an ostrich horse and had cleaned the cabin out from all of the dust and cobwebs. The greatest thing was that it wasn't where he was truly staying.

When Zuko had arrived in Natville he had immediately purchased a cloak, the cabin, and a large two story house in the center of town. He had everything planned out to a key and his plan was going to be perfect. All the townspeople thought that he simply lived in the cabin and that was exactly what he needed them to think.

Natville was large and if you wanted to get through the winding roads in the center of the village than you had to be prepared for the muggers and ready to pay for directions. Ms. Leigh might have seemed like a helpful neighbor, but Zuko knew she was suspecting retribution for anything she might do to help him. He wasn't fooled for a second that she was a friendly neighbor.

It didn't matter though. He patted his ostrich horse on its long neck, checked to make sure it was still securely tied to the widow pane, and then went into his musky cabin. He sat the eggs on the floor and grinned as he started to prepare the cabin. Everything was going according to plan and by dusk, he'd be riding towards Katara.

* * *

Kimiko grimaced as she turned on her side and stared at her wall for a change of scenery. True, her wall and ceiling looked rather similar, but she was tired of lying on her back all day. Lying on her side wasn't that much more amusing, but she had nothing to do. Being kept in the house for protection was just as bad as being grounded, well, except not as bad as Toph's version of being grounded. She shivered at the memory of angering her Aunt Toph.

"Kazuki," she whined as she sat up and kicked her brother in the side. He was sitting on her bed, sharpening a long stick with the pocketknife that he had received as a gift from their Granddad when he was eleven.

"What, Kimie?" He asked as he continued to skin off layer after layer of tree bark with quick, easy and efficient strokes of his knife.

"I'm so bored!" She shouted as she stood and started to pace her room. "I hate being cooped up in here all day. It's so nice outside! Besides, our dad wouldn't try to do anything in bright daylight, no one is that stupid. And why couldn't---"

"—couldn't Ty Lee and Pipsqueak just watch us while we practiced outside because I could at least do something productive. Blah, blah, blah, you can at least Water bend indoors but Sokka won't let me ever since I caught his shirt on fire, blah, blah, blah, not fair because I was only nine, blah, blah, I'm so much better now, blah. Yes, Kimie, I know your whole 'I'm bored' speech by heart now." Kazuki rolled his eyes. "This is only the fifteenth time today you've ranted on about how unfair it is. You don't hear me complaining, do you? And I'm in the same situation that you are. If you're so bored, then do something."

"But what? There's nothing to do!" She proclaimed as she looked around her room. "I've read everything we have in the house, I meditated for two hours straight, and I redecorated my room."

"I still think that your desk looked better over there." Kazuki commented absently as he waved his knife over to the opposite corner where the desk was currently at.

"Not helping, Zuki." Kimiko pouted as she folded her hands over her chest. "You used to be fun, why don't we do something like we use to?"

"We're not allowed to spar in the house and I am perfectly occupied." He empathized by chiseling off another piece of bark. "Why don't you clean the wood scraps if you're so bored?"

"Because you made that mess and you'll clean it up." Kimiko stormed off to her door. "I am no one's slave." She slammed the door behind her and marched down the stairs to sit down at the table and sigh. "I'm bored."

"You said the same thing an hour ago." Pipsqueak commented absently as he took a big bite from his apple.

"That's because I haven't found a cure yet." She pressed her hands to her eyes. "Do you think the Duke could help me find the cure for being bored? I can be his test subject and he can have whatever award we earn."

"He's busy looking after your buddy Tak. He has a bad case of pentapox and the Duke wants to make sure it doesn't get passed around since it's so contagious." Pipsqueak grinned as he took another bite of his apple and set the core on the table.

"Oh really, I thought he just had a stomach ache I didn't realize it was so serious." Kimiko lifted her hands from her eyes and pursed her lips together. "Wait a second, pentapox doesn't exist. That was just something Uncle Aang and my mom made up to fool some guards when they snuck into Omashu."

"You caught me." Pipsqueak grinned. "But hey, at least it got your mind off of being bored for a bit."

"Hey, that's true." Kimiko smiled. "Tell me a story, Pipsqueak."

"Aren't you too old for stories, Kim?" Pipsqueak asked as he stood from the table, apple core in hand, and tossed the core into the trash can. "I expected you to be telling Pam stories by now."

"What stories can I possibly tell Pam? I never did anything cool like you did. Come on, Pipsqueak, tell me about the time you met Uncle Aang, or, better yet, tell me another story about your sister, Angela. I like hearing about her." Kimiko smiled as she rested her elbows on the table as Pipsqueak sat back down at the table.

"Alright, well, if you recall me telling you that I was orphaned with my little sister when I was only seven and she was five. I was always big for my age and she liked calling me Pipsqueak, it made her happy." He smiled.

"Which made you happy as well and is why the nickname stayed," Kimiko confirmed.

"Yep," Pipsqueak's smile widened. "Well, she was always small and I use to call her Angie my angel since I'd lift her onto my shoulders and she'd wave her hands and shout that she was flying. I remember, when we finally settled into a small town, that we were celebrating All Spirits' Day and I bought her one of those paper wings sets." He continued to smile as he watched Kimiko's smile widen. "She was so happy and she ran around town that night, getting all sorts of sweets from the neighbors. But this group of boys tried to take her bag of sweets from her."

"And you roughed them up, right?" Kimiko asked.

"Of course I did. No one got away with trying to pick on my little sister." Pipsqueak puffed out his chest and Kimiko laughed. "But those punks had pushed her over and she had ripped her wings. I barely could afford those wings, since I was still only doing chores for the neighbors to make money, and I was devastated that I couldn't get her another set.

"But she only smiled at me and said that she didn't want another pair. She said that she didn't need wings because she flew higher without them when she was on my shoulders." Pipsqueak beamed and Kimiko stood from her chair as he pushed his chair back. She climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You're such a great big brother, Pipsqueak." Kimiko squeezed her arms tighter as Pipsqueak's hands wrapped around her. "I'm glad your sister realized how great you are." She whispered in his ear.

"I just wish that I could have saved her." He squeezed her a bit tighter. "I should have been there, if I was there when the soldiers came then I could have--"

"You could have been killed along with Angela. You know she's waiting for you in the spirit world, with her own set of real wings." Kimiko assured as she pulled away from the hug to look at Pipsqueak. He offered her a small smile as he wiped away a lone tear that had escaped down his face. "You're a great brother, Pipsqueak. Your little sister knew it, Kazuki knows it, and I know it as well. And once Pamela is old enough to realize anything, she'll know it too."

"Thanks, Kim," Pipsqueak stood up abruptly, balancing Kimiko in the crook of his arm and glanced up the stairs. "I think I could sneak you out for an hour while Ty Lee's busy with Pam." He lowered his voice as he headed for the door.

"See what I mean, Pipsqueak, you're great." Kimiko grinned as she swung the door open. Pipsqueak ducked his head and quietly closed the door behind him.

* * *

"And where were you two?" Kimiko and Pipsqueak's laughter died instantly as they opened the door. Pipsqueak settled Kimiko on her own two feet and shuffled under Sokka's accusing stare. "Well?" He waited for an answer.

"Sokka, it was my fault. I was bored and Pipsqueak just wanted to help." Kimiko stepped in front of Sokka before Pipsqueak had a chance to open his mouth.

"Lighten up, Sokka." Ty Lee signed as she placed a hand on Kimiko's shoulder. "They were only gone for an hour and Pipsqueak was with her the entire time."

Sokka continued to glare but he eventually sighed and sat down at the table. "Fine, you're both off the hook," he paused, "this time. Just don't do it again,"

"I'm guessing this means you guys didn't find Zuko?" Pipsqueak asked as he looked from Sokka's disheveled form to Aang's frowning face and Toph leaning moodily against the wall.

"No," Toph snapped as she pushed off against the wall. "I couldn't even feel him. It's like he's hiding in a tree or something."

"Which is possible, since there are a lot of trees around," Aang frowned. "But I'm staying here tonight to help keep watch because Toph insists on searching some more tonight."

"I don't care if its pitch black out there, I'll find him." Toph claimed determinedly. "No one hides from Toph Beifong." She stormed out of the house, slamming the door after her.

"I swear," Ty Lee signed as she sighed. "She's going to tear the door off of its hinges someday."

"Well if she does then we'll send Aang here the bill." Sokka grinned.

"Hey!" Aang frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Why should I pay for her actions?"

"Because, my friend, you married her." The group broke into laughter, unbeknownst to the danger that was steadily heading toward them as the sun began to set.


	6. My Preperations

My Love Is Eternal 

Chapter 6

**My Preperations**

He had been preparing for this day ever since he saw her. The day when he would take her into his arms once more, when he would say her name to her face, when he would hear his own name fall out of those angelic lips, and when he would his hand through her soft auburn locks. He was prepared.

Saddling his ostrich horse, Zuko closed the old cabin's creaking door behind him and smirked at knowing what would befall the next person who opened the door. His new home was waiting, fully stocked and cleaned, in the middle of the city for his return. He had ventured there in the middle of the day to make sure it was perfect for her and once he had deemed it so, had returned home to prepare some more.

Now he was fully ready. All that was left to do was to go to her village and bring down whoever would challenge him. If he was faced with that other man, he would show no mercy. If he was faced with her brother, he would spare his life. And if he was faced with the Avatar, he was prepared.

* * *

"Alright, I'm going to go find Toph and drag her back before she starts taking out her frustration on some poor, unsuspecting platypus bear pack." Smellerbee grinned as she stood from the table. Ty Lee was bouncing Pamela on her knees as the little girl laughed and clapped her hands to express her enjoyment. Kimiko and Kazuki were cleaning off the table from dinner and Pipsqueak and the Duke were washing and putting away the dishes.

"Long Shot, go with her and make sure that she doesn't just join in with Toph on torturing the wildlife." Sokka suggested as he stood up and stretched.

"Like you have to tell him that," Aang grinned as he gestured at Long Shot, fully prepared with a lantern in hand. "He hangs around Toph more than I do, it seems, and unlike me, he can actually convince Toph and Smellerbee to do something non-threatening to anything."

"Hey, I take offense to that," Smellerbee pouted as she crossed her hands over her chest. "I also listen to Kimi, not just Long Shot."  
"That's because you know I won't hesitate to singe your arm hair." Kimiko grinned as she wrapped up the spare cow pig meat.

"And man does that hurt." Kazuki scowled and rubbed at his arms. "Not to mention whenever it does finally grow back, it's always darker than the rest and looks weird."

"So? With your skinny arms you should be wearing long sleeves anyway." Kimiko smirked as her brother frowned and pushed her playfully.

"We'll be back soon." Smellerbee grabbed her scarf and began to wrap it around her neck and covered up her mouth as well.

"Do you need help finding her?" Aang asked as he began to stand.

"No, we'll just follow the path of destruction," Smellerbee mumbled through the thin fabric. "Besides, you all need to stay here in case Zuko tries to attack at night."

"Right, but you guys should still be careful." Sokka reminded them. "Remember, to keep your alert up at all times or else he might get the jump on you."

"Please," Ty Lee signed as she balanced Pamela on her lap. "Zuko hasn't been the Blue Spirit type in years. You know he always announces himself now before he attacks. Even if he did jump down from a tree, he'd probably shout 'I am Zuko, fear me!' or something like that." Ty Lee rolled her eyes. "He's not one for stealth nowadays."

"That's true," Aang added. "I wouldn't be surprised if Zuko's already found a group of rebels to become the leader of and manipulated them all to attack our village." The room suddenly became quite when Aang stood and grabbed his glider. "I'm going to go fly around just to make sure that there isn't an angry mob heading this way."

Smellerbee, Long Shot, and Aang all left together leaving a tense situation behind in their wake. "You don't really think that our father would destroy the entire village just to get to Kimiko, do you?" Kazuki asked as he finished clearing the last of the dishes from the table.

Sokka tensed and looked at Ty Lee for help. "I'm going to go put Pam down for the night now." Ty Lee signed and abruptly left the room. Sokka scowled.

"Well," Sokka started. "Zuko is a bit drastic and overdramatic to prove his point and get what he wants but I have a biased opinion since he once burned my hands just to try and teach me to respect him while I was a prisoner on his ship."

"What?" Both Kimiko and Kazuki screamed as their eyes widened immensely.

"Don't worry; your mother healed my hands afterward. Besides, your Granddad snapped at Zuko before he could do anything else." Sokka assured though the twins eyes remained round and unblinking.

"What Sokka meant to say," the Duke strode over to the table and took a seat. "Is that your father, due to his unstableness, often goes to the extremes when trying to get what he wants, whether it's a point across or a person. He did spend a few years chasing Aang in his attempt to gain his father's respect and he spent a lot of time after that to get your mother to love him. He's thickheaded, a trait that you both gained from him, but, unlike him, you two know the difference between right and wrong."

"That's right," Pipsqueak chipped in as he sat next to Kimiko and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Your father never had too many good role models around so he never learned how to restrain himself so well when things didn't go as he wanted them. But there are a few moments when he knows what he's doing is wrong and tries to make amends. It's not that your dad is a bad guy; it's just that he's really unstable in his mind and lets his ego take over and tell him that losing isn't an option."

"Which is where you two also gained your competitiveness," Sokka added. "So Zuko isn't all that bad; he had a few good traits. It's just that he had more bad traits."

"So, to answer Zuki's question, you do think that our dad would destroy the entire town just to get to me." Kimiko replied gloomily as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Maybe I should just give myself up before anyone gets hurt. I mean, he wouldn't hurt me, right? If I pretended to be mom and tried to talk some reason into him, he wouldn't hurt me or others," Kimiko glanced up at Sokka. "Right?" She persisted as she noticed that he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Sokka," The Duke looked at him, the deep frown on his face looking out of place on the normally smiling doctor's face. "What did you tell them when you finally told them about Katara and Zuko?" There was more accusation then incurring in the question.

"I didn't think they needed to know all of it down to the very detail so I didn't have Jee talk about…certain parts." Sokka frowned and fumbled with his hands like he normally did when he knew all eyes in the room were on him.

"Our father abused our mother?" Kazuki asked in a grave voice as the realization hit him. "Do you think he's going to hurt Kimiko if he gets his hands on her? Like a punishment for 'dating me' and not being around him for the past decade and so?" He asked worriedly as he grabbed his sister's hand on the table.

"We're not going to find out what Zuko's plans are because he's not going to achieve them. Zuko will never get through that door, believe me." Sokka stood up. "I'm going to be standing out there all night and if Zuko really thinks he can get passed me," Sokka unsheathed his sword, the ringing of the metal sliding against its metal casing echoing through the room. "He's got another thing coming." With that threat delivered, Sokka stepped out of the house and slammed the door behind him.

"Don't worry, Sokka won't really hurt him." Pipsqueak smiled.

"From what we've heard from our father, it seems like Uncle Sokka can't hurt him." Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Besides, our dad is a Firebender like me and Sokka's never been able to hold up that long against me in a sparing match so I doubt he'll be able to last long with our dad."

"Kimi, let's go upstairs. You promised me you'd show me that new scroll tonight." Kazuki randomly brought up. Kimiko stared at him for a moment before she nodded and pushed her chair back.

"We're probably going to take a while looking at that scroll so goodnight Pipsqueak," Kimiko stood and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight the Duke." She kissed him on his cheek as well and brushed her hand over his characterized hat that he had finally grown into.

"Goodnight guys," Kazuki threw over his shoulder as he started up the stairs toward his sister's room.

"Goodnight," the two tossed back as they watched the twins disappear into the room.

"I thought I told you to say that you wanted me to show you my new meditation technique. If Aang was here then he would have wanted to see my 'new scroll' as well. Really, Zuki, you have to listen to me when I give you a good excuse." Kimiko berated as soon as she closed her door. Kazuki sighed and sat down on the floor, resuming the same spot where he had been sitting all day. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Kimi," Kazuki frowned and then patted her bed to offer her a seat. She frowned as well and hurried to sit down beside him, opting for the floor instead of the bed, "If our father does kidnap you, you have to make sure that you can convince him that you're our mother."

"What? That's the opposite of what Aang said. He told me to try and convince him that I was his daughter and that mom was dead. He said that if I played along I might end up only confusing dad even more." Kimiko scowled. "Besides, I'm not going to get kidnapped. Sokka's at the door and he has Pipsqueak and the Duke backing him up, not to mention Ty Lee. And if worse comes to worse, you and I can always use our bending to keep him at bay."

"But that's the thing; you shouldn't use your bending in front of him. Mom was a Waterbender and you have to make him believe your mom. He doesn't care about his kids, in fact, he doesn't think we exist or if he does recognize our existence, it's because he thinks we caused mom's death. You have a better chance at not being harmed if you're mom and not yourself." Kazuki explained as he grabbed his sister's hand again and squeezed it between his own. "From what we've been told, our dad is ruthless, determined, smart, and skilled. He's been able to sneak into a Fire Nation fortress during the war days and kidnap Aang, so what's going to stop him this time from kidnapping you? If anything, it'll be easier since we're missing the army of highly trained guards and the almost impenetrable fortress."

"Yeah but he doesn't know where I am." Kimiko insisted as she cupped her other hand around his and squeezed back.

"At least, not yet," Kazuki frowned. "Just promise me you won't think about giving yourself up to try and save others. I don't want you to think about others, I want you to think about yourself."

"Zuki," A corner of Kimiko's lips twitched up into a smile. "You can't ask me to do that. It's not how we think, even now, when your life is in danger; you can't stop but think about me."

"Well, then I want you to just think about me." Kazuki's hands started to shake with his repressed sobs. "If you're gone, then I'm left alone. Please, Kimi, you've always been here for me, I don't want to ever find out what life would be like without you."

"You won't, I promise, I'll always be here." Kimiko bit her bottom lip as she inched closer and rested her head on her brother's shoulder. "Remember, it's the same promise we made when we were six."

"I remember," Kazuki wrapped his arms around her. "I just want to make sure you keep your word this time."

* * *

Standing on guard, Sokka kept one hand hovering above his sword while he used his other to hold onto his jacket's opening. The wind had picked up speed and was threatening to blow his coat away. He really should have let Ty Lee buy him a new coat that didn't have missing buttons. If he had gotten a new coat then he just could have had two; one to wear and one to keep for sentimental reasons.

Shaking his head, Sokka mentally scolded himself. He had to stay alert. Zuko would try to sneak up on him and he had to be prepared for any attack at any minute.

"Excuse me, good sir," A hand fell on his shoulder and Sokka jumped as he withdrew his sword and held it at the stranger's chest. "But I'm a bit lost; would you mind helping me out?" The stranger didn't seem to react to the sword at all, though Sokka couldn't see his face so he might have.

Sokka sighed and placed his sword back into his sheath. "I'm sorry, but I really don't have time right now to be a Good Samaritan and help you with directions. I have to stay alert and on guard."

"Oh and what for? Is there something amiss in this village?" The stranger asked calmly as the hood moved around, as though the stranger was trying to look for danger. "I thought that the Avatar lived in this village. What could possibly be amiss with the Avatar claiming this to be his home?"

"Well, it's true that the Avatar lives here, but he's currently on the lookout for the same reason I am, which is, frankly, none of your business." Sokka narrowed his eyes. "Now, please go somewhere else to gain directions. You're distracting me and there might be a surprise attack at any moment." Sokka's mood lightened up a little. "At first, I had expected you to be the attack, but the guy who I'm expecting isn't that dumb to just walk right up to me."

"Or maybe you are just that dumb that he can walk right up to you." Another strong blast of wind whistled by, brushing back the hood that hid Zuko's grinning face. "Surprise," he lifted his flaming hands.

Sokka's eyes widened and he reached for his sword as he began to scream.

* * *

"I heard a scream." Toph announced as she lifted her head to the sky. 

"I heard it too." Smellerbee confirmed as she glanced from Long Shot to Aang.

"Zuko," Aang muttered as he threw his glider into the sky and took off out of the woods and back to the village.

* * *

Kimiko and Kazuki both stared at each other for a breathless moment before they busted out of the room and slid into the hallway.

Ty Lee was already cart wheeling down the stairs and flipped into the air as Zuko drop kicked Pipsqueak to the ground. Ty Lee landed behind Zuko and jabbed her hand toward his neck just as he bent over and blasted two fireballs as he twisted around to face her. Ty Lee's agile body was able to dodge the blasts but the old wooden planks of the house caught and quickly started to spread around the doorway.

Jumping onto his back, the Duke wrapped his arms around Zuko's throat and grunted as Zuko grabbed his hands and growled. A moment later and the Duke was screaming and trying to wrench his burning arm back. Zuko didn't release him until Ty Lee started toward him again. Whipping the Duke around by his arm, Zuko hit Ty Lee with the Duke and finally released the poor man's arm.

Turning on his heel, Zuko smirked as he glanced up the stairs. The fire continued to burn the front of their home. The flames rose high behind Zuko, outlining him as the smoke began to pour around the room as well. "Katara, aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?" His smirk slowly turned into a warm grin and he held his hands outstretched in front of him. "I missed you, Katara, haven't you missed me?" Zuko slowly started to walk around the broken pieces of wood that had once been chairs and a table as he approached the steps.

"Get the rope over the tree." Kazuki quickly pushed his stunned sister back toward her room and then hurried into Pamela's room. He grabbed his sleeping cousin and wrapped her in her pink blanket, making sure that he wrapped her face so she wouldn't breathe in any smoke.

He rushed through the door and froze as Zuko stepped on the top step. "Well, hello there." Zuko's hands lit anew. "My name's Zuko, won't you shake my hand hello?"

Kazuki turned to look at the fish tank in Pamela's room and apologized to Gregory the green catfish as he bent the water into a whip and hurled it at Zuko, sending him sputtering down a few stairs.

He hurried to Kimiko's room and saw that she had actually gotten the rope around on the first try. "Take Pam and go, I'll be right behind you." He added on before she could get any word of protest.

"Well, fancy that, another Waterbender. No wonder Katara's been hanging around you." Zuko stood in the doorway and his eyes darkened as he watched Kimiko escape out the window. "Tell me, is that child yours?"

"I'm not going to tell you anything." Kazuki lifted his hands above his head, thankful that Kimiko never finished her nightly glass of water, and dropped his hands in front of him as he aimed his fists at Zuko.

Zuko yelled and blasted the whip of water aiming at him, a burst of steam rising to the ceiling in its place. "You had the element of surprise with that last stunt. Now, you just don't have any elements on your side."

"Oh yeah? I think I have one more surprise left." Kazuki grinned as he looked behind himself and saw that Kimiko was safely climbing down the tree. "Surprise," Kazuki jumped out the window and grabbed onto the rope, snapping it in half and swinging into the tree. He braced his legs out in front of himself and gently pushed down the tree and slid down it using the excess rope.

"Kazuki," Kimiko ran over him and looked up at the window. "Should we go check on the others before we start running?"

"You start now, I'll check on the others. He's stuck up there so we'll have a few minutes before--" Kazuki froze as he watched Zuko jump out of the window with a powerful yell. He flipped in the air and landed on the ground, creating a loud bang similar to thunder.

"You learn a few things when you've had the training I have." Zuko grinned as he straightened his posture. "Like how to be prepared for everything and anything." His grin widened as he slowly started to approach the two teens.


	7. My Plan Unfurls

**Author's Note**: I'm going to flat out and tell my readers of this fic that I will finish this story but I am no longer big on this fandom or pairing. Which means this is the last that I will write probably unless something kicks me back into the fandom, which is unlikely. Also, if you're wondering about my absense go read my profile on my more active account Alonein-Darkness7 because I explain what has happened to me lately. So if you don't read that, then do not complain about the lack of updates because that is my explanation and I believe I fully have the right to not be writing currently. For a few people out there; Thank you for your on going support!

* * *

My Love Is Eternal

Chapter 7

**My Plan Unfurls**

Zuko slowly approached the two teens, his smile growing wider with each step backwards they tried to take in their desperate attempt to keep the distance between them. He felt like everything had come down to this moment, the moment he won Katara back. After all, he deserved this moment. He had worked so hard, had never given up hope of seeing Katara again, and had prepared for everything, just like he had said.

"Were you prepared for me, Zuko?" Then suddenly, things had backfired, just like that. A gust of wind and Zuko's cool and cocky composure was gone to be replaced with anger.

"Avatar," Zuko hissed as he tensely turned around to glare at his long time, epic opponent. "This won't be like any of our past battles," Zuko threatened as the flames on his fingertips turned into a hand held inferno.

"Because you won't be holding back this time?" Aang guessed as he held his bo-staff at the ready, as though it was a sword. "You can't believe you can defeat me, Zuko. I'm not even alone if you were hoping for that advantage. Toph is right around the corner helping the others control the damage you've done. Just give up peacefully now, there's no way you can win."

Glaring, Zuko clenched his hands tightly together in front of himself. "No, this time will be different and I will win, because I won't be fighting fair." Zuko spun around and sent his attack straight at Kazuki. Kimiko shouted as she watched the hit collide straight on with her brother and knock him into the tree, uprooting it and causing it to fall over due to the immense power of the attack and its recoil.

Aang's eyes widened and he jumped over Zuko to Kazuki's side and immediately put out the flames on his clothes and patted him down to check for any damages. From what it appeared, Kazuki's clothes had taken on most of the blow, just like the attack on Sokka had. They were both extremely lucky but Aang believed that Zuko really was holding back on them. Kazuki had a few burns but nothing too major that he wouldn't be able to heal before they scarred. Aang had never been so thankful that Kazuki had inherited his mother's healing abilities.

"Zuko," Aang growled and turned back to the spot where Zuko had been only a minute ago. Of course he wasn't still there. No villain simply stayed in place while the hero looked after the innocent, injured bystander.

Movement to his side caught Aang's attention and his breath caught in his throat as he saw Kimiko unconscious in Zuko's arm—whether from the shock of seeing her brother attacked by her own father or by Zuko hitting her on the back of the head, Aang didn't know which since his thought had been focused all on Kazuki's wellbeing. Zuko also held the crying Pamela in his other arm and was staring at her with a nonplussed expression on his face.

"Is she Katara's daughter?" Zuko asked, his eyes never leaving Pamela as he studied her carefully as though she would speak for herself and answer Zuko's question.

"No, she's Sokka and Ty Lee's," Aang carefully stood up as though trying not to spook a wild beast. He had to be cautious to insure that Zuko wouldn't harm Pamela.

"Hm," Zuko's mouth curved up in one corner and his eyes sparkled for a moment. "Good," He was full out smirking now. "Catch, Avatar." He tossed Pamela high into the sky and Aang instantly took flight.

Pamela's blanket unfurled as she shot into the sky and her crying increased by tenfold. Aang caught her and then slowly began to lower back to the ground, cooing to her and trying to stop her fussing now that she was protected and back in safe arms.

By the time he landed, Zuko was gone and so was Kimiko.

Zuko hefted Katara's unconscious body into his arms and ran to the edge of the woods where he had left his ostrich horse tied up. He hoped that he hadn't hurt his captured damsel too much with the sneaky blow to the head but he knew that she was stubborn—a trait he still loved even though it was a handful at times—and the quickest way to get her away from the Avatar was with her not being able to object or struggle.

He knew that Katara always had water on her at all times in case of the need for bending and he really didn't want to deal with that either. Zuko sighed as he placed Katara on the ground and untied the ostrich horse. He'd have to deal with her temper as soon as she woke up but he knew that he could dish accusations right back at her.

Besides, an argument with Katara was still the best thing that would happen to him. After all, she would be talking to him and he missed hearing her voice outside of his endless, confusing dreams.

Wrapping the ostrich horse's reign around his arm, he picked Katara up again—once more in the gentle bridal style that his beloved deserved—and hopped onto his ride. "Get," he ordered as he kicked it in its side to motivate it to move a bit faster. Time wasn't on his side yet. But soon, he would have all the time in the world to spare with his lovely Katara.

He quickly maneuvered the creature through the woods, careful of the low branches to make sure that Katara didn't get scratch, and made it back to Natville in record time.

Patting the ostrich horse's neck, Zuko promised it a good rest as he directed it back into town. He used the small back alleys sense most of the people who worked at night were on the main streets, trying to lure their business in. And he knew that if the Avatar came into town those night workers would flock upon him and be willing to tell everything they've seen, which is why he had to remain in the shadows.

Finally arriving in what was purchased as his real home; Zuko slid off the ostrich horse and opened the door, leading the ostrich horse inside behind him. He tied it to the door once it was locked and then started up the stairs, smiling at Katara's still face as she slumbered. She really hadn't aged a day, it seemed. She was still as beautiful as he remembered her being at sixteen.

He gently laid her down on the soft sheets and thanked this house for being abandoned and already furnished. There was no way he could find sheets with such a fine quality to them in Natville. He was actually surprised, when he had first toured the house, that the sheets were still there among the furniture. The guide had informed him that the house was supposedly haunted and that was why the items have been left and the house hadn't been ransacked.

Zuko knew he could work well in a haunted house that people would never believe was bought. He wasn't too superstitious, that was more of his uncle's line of work to believe in the Spirit World. Plus the house was simply the best place to hide. In plain sight yet in the last spot one would expect.

Brushing one of her long strands of hair behind her ear, Zuko stared at Katara's still slumbering face and smiled. He missed her old hairstyle—he would try to convince her to go back to it later—but beside that, nothing had really changed, not even his engagement necklace around her neck. He was glad that she still wore it, she obviously hadn't forgotten him.

His eyes glanced down her curvy form and he was surprised that he couldn't find any pouch of water attached to her hip or slung around her shoulder. She must have left it at home in her rush to save her brother's child, always one to think of other's safety before preparing herself for a battle.

Zuko smiled softly at the thought that Katara was still the self-sacrificing, wonderful person she had always been. It truly did seem like even time hadn't been able to affect her and the little things that made her perfect in his eyes.

Bending down, Zuko placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I'll be right back, Katara," he mumbled and then, reluctantly, left the room. He had to go tie the ostrich horse to the connected, tiny stable in the back of the house before it began to make a mess in the house. He didn't want Katara to wake up to anything other than a perfect home and a perfect new beginning.

Giving the ostrich horse extra feed for its job well done once it was settled in the stables, Zuko began to hum to himself as he climbed the stairs once more to see his goddess. Everything was going according to plan and he couldn't be happier about it.

"We have to go after them." Kazuki demanded as he turned to face Aang. "He has Kimiko," He repeated to emphasize his point, "We have to go after them and we have to go after them right now before he does something to hurt her."

"Kazuki, you're tired. You just finished healing yourself and Sokka, there's no way you're coming with us and that's final." Aang sighed and stood from the long table. The group had decided to recuperate in the castle, more importantly the kitchen area since the table was long enough to be covered with all the maps they had found of all the areas surrounding their village.

"I'm sorry," Aang's voice softened as he placed a hand on Kazuki's shoulder to comfort him. "I know you love your sister and that you're worried about her and want to help, but you have to think about yourself as well right now."

"He's right, Kazuki, you've helped enough tonight." Sokka smiled reassuringly. "You need your rest as well."

"But you got hurt tonight too, and so did Pipsqueak, but you're all still going." Kazuki frowned.

"Yes, but you healed me. And Pipsqueak's injuries aren't anything too major that could end up becoming worse or infected," Sokka argued and continued before Kazuki could open his mouth. "I repeat, you healed me," he looked at the boy sternly, "And then you healed yourself which continued to drain you of your energy."

"So? I'm young; I have plenty of energy to spare." Kazuki's voice teetered to a whine. "You can't keep me back here, I need to find her."

"Look, Kazuki," Toph spoke up. "Right now you're frustrated and, even though you won't admit it, tired. If you came with us you'd just be a liability plus you'd be slowing us down. I'm sorry, kid, but if you really want to help your sister than you have to let us go after her."

Kazuki stared at Toph, his eyes wide and his mouth open as he simply stared at his aunt. He knew that she was blunt and never one to hold back the truth, but that had really hurt.

Aang grimaced and quickly placed a comforting hand on Kazuki's shoulder. "Zuki, Toph didn't mean that. She's the one that's frustrated right now so she's just letting her emotions get to the better of her." He reassured. "Besides, she does have a point; Zuko would use you against us if he got a hold of you; you're a liability just waiting to happen."  
"Yeah, Zuko already wants you dead since he doesn't realize you're his son so he wouldn't feel bad at all using you as a hostage." Sokka piped in. "It's hard to face, but it's true that you're dad is a psychopath. After all, he didn't care about what happened to Pamela, and I was on his good side, last I checked."

"Then it's decided," Toph stood up from her chair and placed her hands on her hips. "Everyone but Ty Lee, the Duke, and Kazuki are going after Zuko. Now stop confirming that and let's get a move on before Zuko's trail gets cold." Kazuki opened his mouth, once again ready to argue about being left behind but Toph quickly stomped the ground and Kazuki found himself flat on his butt. "I said it was decided; no more talking, it's time for action!" She turned around and began to head out of the door that connected the kitchen to the outside gardens. "Catch up with me when you guys are ready, I'll be finding Zuko's trail." She slammed the door behind her.

Aang sighed and helped Kazuki stand. "She's just worried about Kimiko, it's nothing personal. You know how she gets. Remember when we were babysitting and lost Pamela for that hour?"

"What?" Sokka asked, bewildered and turned to stare down the Avatar.

"Ah, never mind." Aang grinned sheepishly. "Now, Kazuki, Duke's going to take you back to our home since we won't have a chance to repair Sokka's. We'll be back by tomorrow night at the latest." Aang pulled the pouting teen into a hug then ran to catch up with his angry wife before she destroyed everything in her path trying to search for Zuko.

"Don't worry, we'll bring her back." Sokka promised as he patted Kazuki's shoulder and followed the rest of the group after Aang.

"Come on, Zuki," The Duke walked beside the boy and offered a light smile. "Sokka isn't going to let anything happen to her and you know that the Avatar never lets anyone down."

Kazuki sighed but nodded. "Yeah, I know, I just wish that I could just keep my promise to Kimi."

"Toph!" Aang cried out as he swooped down on his glider next to her, causing her to jump and glare in his general direction. "Sorry, I forgot how much you hate it when I do that."

"Don't worry about it, Twinkle-toes," She sighed as she bent down once more in the large clearing. "He ran through here, but then I can't pick up his trail again. There aren't any broken branches from where he re entered the forest from here and I can't even feel any depressions in the ground from where his animal's footsteps are. It's like the animal just decided to fly instead or something."

"That's weird," Pipsqueak muttered as he appeared out of the woods.

"That's stupid, that's what." Smellerbee glared as she crossed her arms over her chest. "If Zuko had an animal that could fly, then he wouldn't make it run all this way in the first place. You must have been following someone else's footprints or something."

"Not if Zuko wanted to just drag us all the way out here so we could get lost." Aang suggested, frowning.

"Wait," a wheeze sounded from behind the ex-Freedom Fighters and they all turned to watch as Sokka finally emerged into the clearing. "A minute, just," he panted, "Give me a moment." Sokka fell on his butt and continued to try and catch his breath. "How are you all still in such good shape? We haven't been adventuring in years!" Sokka glared at the group as he stood up and brushed the dirt off of his butt. "Toph, can you show me one of these tracks. Maybe if we figured out what kind of animal Zuko had it could help us."

"The last track I felt was behind us. Near the tree that Kazuki is standing behind." Toph pointed in the general direction of a loud gasp and a rustle of tree leaves.

"Kazuki," Aang frowned as the boy stepped out from behind the tree.

"I couldn't let you guys save her. What kind of brother would I be if I just stayed home? It's my responsibility to look after he, I promised her that I'd look after her!" Kazuki explained frantically. "And I can help! I'm a Water Bender and Waterbending defeats Firebending, right?"

Pipsqueak looked at Long Shot and Smellerbee, it was obvious that those two agreed with him about Kazuki being allowed to help, but it wasn't their choice after all. Toph, Sokka, and Aang all stared at the boy until Sokka finally sighed. "Alright, as a fellow brother, I can't tell you not to help out your sister. But if we tell you to get back during a fight you had better run to the hills, understand?" Kazuki nodded eagerly, ready to prove himself. "Now, watch out, we need to try and figure out whatever animal Zuko was riding."

"Oh, you mean his ostrich horse?" Kazuki asked as he knelt down and squinted, brushing something in the dirt. "Yeah, definitely an ostrich horse," he confirmed.

"Alright, now we know the animal. But does anyone know how Zuko's ostrich horse pulled that disappearing act?" Sokka asked the group.

"That's easy," Kazuki scoffed and stepped into the clearing. "An ostrich horse can adjust itself to the weight it's carrying after a certain period of time. Once its use to the weight, its footsteps become light and untraceable, which is why the Earth Kingdom often uses them for its army when moving. Told you I could help," Kazuki grinned, feeling a bit smug. "It's a good thing you have someone here who reads now, huh?"

"I read!" Sokka insisted as he felt his genius of the group position challenged.

"Yeah, but reading bedtime stories to Pamela doesn't really count." Kazuki continued to grin.

"Oh yeah, Mr. Smart Guy? Then tell us which way Zuko and his ostrich horse went." Sokka suggested as he swept his hand out in a flourishing gesture for Kazuki to lead the group.

"Well obviously they went straight. An ostrich horse isn't known for making large turns. If they turned at any time, something will be askew in the woods and we'll be able to tell from there." Kazuki quickly began to run forward. "Come on, what are you guys waiting for? The sun's going to rise soon."

Sokka pouted as he followed the rest of the group. "He can't take comic release from me, that job will always be mine." He muttered to himself.

There was a repeating pounding near by. It sounded like a woodpecker was going at her head as if it was wooden. Or Kazuki had gotten himself locked into the bathroom again.

Kimiko moaned and rolled over. She didn't want to open her eyes yet. Not until that incisive banging went away. Groaning, Kimiko opened her eyes and sat up. She instantly wished that she hadn't. That pounding was her head.

"Oh, my poor, aching head." She complained and quickly laid back down, flopping her arm out to the side as her other one came up to cover her closed eyes, making sure to block out all light source. Kimiko continued to moan in misery as a hot hand rested on top of her forehead.

"Sorry about hitting you, but you know that it was a last resort." Kimiko froze; she didn't even dare to breathe as those hot fingers danced across her brow and lightly pressed into her temple. "My hands probably aren't helping; they have always been hot."

Carefully, Kimiko moved her hand away from her eyes and she gulped as she looked up at the face of the very man that had attacked her friends, burned her home down, attacked her brother, and kidnapped her; her father.

"Zuko," She whispered the name and watched as the man smiled and leaned down. Again, she held her breath and closed her eyes as she felt hot air caress her skin.

"Katara," A soft kiss was placed on her forehead. "I've missed you so much." A hand gently cupped her cheek as Zuko pulled away, a tender smile on his face as he gazed down at Kimiko.

She gulped and prayed that her brother was near to save her.

"We're only going to ask you one more time, has anyone bought any homes here in the past week?" Aang asked once more, raking a hand down his face as he stared at the only real estate agent of Natville. The man continued to grin and tilted his head to the side.

"Well, my memory is a little foggy," he frowned and leaned against the counter separating him from Aang and the gang. "If only something could jolt my old mind I might be able to remember," The sleazy salesman cleared his throat and his elbow bumped a jar on the counter with a dollar sign on it. The jar was empty.

Toph stormed forward and grabbed the salesman collar, tugging him off the ground and halfway onto the counter. "My fist will gladly jolt your memory!"

"I suddenly remember that I sold a cottage up on the hill recently!" The salesman spilled like a knocked over glass of water. "A really old place but secluded and near the edge of the woods. A man in a cloak bought it; real shady character, wouldn't let me get a glance at his face but had a rough voice and paid with cash right up front. Seemed to have a short temper too,"

Toph grinned and let the man go. "That's Zuko alright. Come on, let's go."

"Thanks for all your help!" Aang waved as he followed the rest of the group out. The salesman rubbed at his neck.

"Maybe I should have also mentioned that he purchased the old haunter joint in the middle of town." The salesman pondered aloud as he shrugged.

"Why would Zuko buy a cabin of all places to live?" Smellerbee asked as they started toward the cabin on the edge of town.

"He's probably not planning on staying their long." Sokka suggested as he pulled out his sword. "Just a place to rest for the night before he can make off with Kimiko to a village even farther away."

"Well he's not getting the chance to," Kazuki growled as he uncapped the gourd sling of water he kept at his side. "We're stopping his plans now."

"Alright guys, surround the place and I'll enter first." Aang ordered as they made it near the cabin. The group quickly dispersed around the cabin, all of them at the ready as Aang carefully went to the door. He easily turned the doorknob and pushed the door in slowly to avoid creaking.

"Wait, the cabin's empty!" Toph cried out just as the door fully opened and the cabin exploded.


End file.
